Exile of the Royal Disciple
by FablehavenFan
Summary: When Seth receives an ultimatum from Murdred, the Knights of the Dawn soon find themselves rushing to obtain the remaining relics. However, the Demon God is more than prepared for Seth and his allies. Story 8 of a 10-Part Series.
1. Fair Is Fair

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fablehaven,** **or anything that originated within the books.**

 **This is the eighth story in a series that I have been writing.** **Please make sure that you've read the previous seven stories in order before starting with this one.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Fair Is Fair**

The sun was shining down from atop its apex in the sky. Its brilliant glow stretched across the countryside, spanning from one end of the horizon to the other. Additionally, the sky was completely devoid of any clouds, ensuring that the intense warmth of the sun's summer glow reached every unobstructed inch of surface area through the land.

As beautiful as the weather was, along with it came a blistering wave of heat. For most of the creatures that resided on the Fablehaven preserve, it meant that they had to find ways of coping with the increased temperature of the summer. While a fair amount of creatures were unaffected by the rise in Fahrenheit, the majority of them had to change or make adjustments to their routine, be it seeking refuge in the shade, or increasing their daily intake of water.

With regards to the human inhabitants of Fablehaven, they too had to endure the heat that came along with the weather that late August had brought with it. As it was currently the middle of the day, the height of the heat was at its absolute worst.

Wiping a layer of sweat from his brow, Seth Sorenson made his way through the first floor hallway of the house. Seth was nearing in on the kitchen, and he clearly had one sight set in mind; the refrigerator. His mouth feeling dry, Seth entered the kitchen and proceeded to walk up to the fridge.

"Seth Andrew Sorenson," said Grandma, as Seth stopped short in the center of the kitchen. Seth looked over to the doorway that led into the dining room, and saw where his grandmother had been standing. He had failed to notice that she was even there until she spoke.

"Hey, Grandma," said Seth, trying to come off as sounding casual.

"You weren't thinking of helping yourself to something in the fridge now, were you?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so what? It's hot!"

"I know it is," said Grandma, as she walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. "But you just ate lunch!"

"All I wanted was a can of soda," muttered Seth. "What's your alibi?"

"Have some water instead," said Grandma, pulling out a glass pitcher of water from the fridge. "You don't need all that sugar! Besides, you'll be going to the fair very soon, and there's plenty of junk for you to eat there!"

"That water does look pretty good," said Seth, eyeing the few droplets of water that were dripping down the outside of the pitcher, making trails through the condensation that had formed upon the glass. "But I still wish we had air conditioning! I mean, come on!"

"I understand," said Grandma, as she proceeded to pour some water into a glass. "But the brownies who designed this house don't understand the concept of central air conditioning. They don't utilize that sort of architecture."

"I wish they would," said Seth, as he gulped down the glass of water that Grandma has presented him with. "At least this was cold. I would've gone swimming, but Dad said we'd be leaving soon."

"Kids, we're going!" said Mr. Sorenson, whose voice was echoing from the front hall.

"It's so hot, I almost just want to stay here and go swimming with you guys," said Seth.

"The car at least has air conditioning," said Grandma. "Have fun!"

Seth made his way back into the hallway, where his father, mother, Kendra, Ingrid and Warren had all gathered.

"Ready to go?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

"Yeah," said Seth. "Let's get out of this boiler room of a house and have some fun!"

"This should be nice," said Kendra, as the family made their way out through the front door and stepped into the yard surrounding the house. "We haven't really left the property for a real outing in several weeks, now, have we?"

"You'll enjoy the fair," said Mr. Sorenson, as he unlocked the doors to his SUV with his keyring.

"Thanks for letting me come along," said Warren. "Even though I have all of you, it gets kinda lonely without Clover, sometimes."

"Our pleasure," said Mrs. Sorenson, as everyone climbed into the SUV and took their seat. "With three kids to look out for, Scott and I don't mind having an extra chaperone."

Warren laughed. "Your children are world-class adventurers. I think they can handle themselves at the local county fair just fine. Not that I'm trying to talk you out of excluding me or anything."

"We haven't been doing too much world-class adventuring lately," said Seth, as everybody fastened their seat belts.

"What do you mean?" asked Ingrid, who was sitting in the seat next to him. She placed her hand on Seth's shoulder.

"Think about it," said Seth, as his father started the SUV's ignition, which was followed by a blast of cool air circulating through the vehicle. "We haven't accomplished anything since the whole ordeal with the Pyruby. And even that whole thing we only stumbled into completely by accident. The whole summer's almost gone by now, and _still_ we're no closer to finding the Necromaster than we were the moment we first learned about it!"

"Seth, you know we've been _trying_ ," said Kendra. "But there -just- -haven't- -been- any leads!"

"I know what this is about," said Ingrid, as the SUV made its way down the driveway. "You want the Necromaster to be found already, so that we can kill Murdred once and for all."

"Don't we all?" asked Seth.

"It's not so bad," said Warren. "We do have three of the five relics."

"Says the guy with the Sapphazure," said Seth, pulling the Pyruby out of his pocket. "You wanna trade? The Pyruby isn't doing me any favors in this heat."

"I think I'm good," said Warren, admiring the blue relic that he was holding in his hand.

"Seth, you need to get your mind off this whole Murdred thing," said Mrs. Sorenson, as the SUV drove out through the front gate. "You've been making a fuss about it all summer!"

"Look, I just want Murdred to be defeated already," said Seth. "I know he hasn't been a concern since the whole thing with Nemenemi, but I just want to never have to deal with him again."

"I think we're all in agreement with that," said Ingrid.

"I really mean it. More than the rest of you. It's because of me and my debt to the Singing Sisters that we got caught up with Murdred in the first place. Plus, I'm a shadow charmer. Murdred and I may be sworn enemies, but he does value the darkness that lurks within me."

"Don't worry so much," said Warren. "Whatever happens, we'll be there for you."

"You don't understand. The rest of you are either associated with fairies, or just plain normal. I'm a shadow charmer. And even though I like to consider myself a good person, sometimes I feel like I just don't belong."

"Of course you belong," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"That's not what I mean," said Seth."Like it or not, I have a connection to darkness. One that doesn't exactly bode well for someone who'd rather consider himself to be one of the _good guys_. And being an ally of the night, that only places me one degree of separation closer to Murdred than I actually want. Even if I can't change who I am, I can at least aspire to get rid of Murdred."

"I get what you're saying," said Ingrid. "I understand what you mean, even though I can't exactly _relate_ to you."

"Seth, I know you're not fond of the association," said Warren, "but you can't let it get to you. Dark or not, you're still you."

"We'll stop Murdred somehow," said Kendra. "Even though we're no closer to stopping him than we were before, he's no closer to stopping us."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Seth. "We don't know what he's been up to at all since we last saw him."

"Seth, please try to relax," said Mr. Sorenson.

"Sorry," said Seth. "But we're really running out of options! The knights haven't found a single lead on the relics since the Pyruby. I honestly think there's only one way to turn at this point."

"What's that?" asked Ingrid.

"The Singing Sisters. If anybody can find the remaining relics, it's them."

"No way," said Warren, holding up his hands. "We are _not_ resorting to _them_! This is not something that we absolutely need in order to survive. Even if they c _an_ help us find the Necromaster, there's no telling what they may want in return. The might make you their slave for the rest of your life. They may force you to spend fifty years standing on one foot. Or they might just ask you to bring them a bologna sandwich."

"Either way, I would never condone a visit to the Singing Sisters," said Mrs. Sorenson. "And I'm sure I speak for the entire family when I say that."

"I dunno," said Seth. "They might let me haggle with them."

"Seth, that's enough," said Mr. Sorenson. "Can we please stop talking about Murdred and the relics? We understand your concern and everything, but today is supposed be to fun."

"Okay, fine."

Before long, the SUV had made its way out of the forest, and soon approached the small township of Crossroad Pass. Consisting of only a few blocks of houses and other low-rise buildings, as well as several small parks and plots of unused land, Crossroad Pass was the closest place to Fablehaven that one could consider to be "civilization".

Mr. Sorenson soon found a parking spot on a residential street where many other cars were already parked. The moment that he turned off the ignition, everybody piled out of the SUV. Right away, both Kendra and Seth could feel themselves being hit by the heat that was coming down from the sun, almost making them wish that they had stayed in the car.

"Is everyone wearing sunscreen?" asked Mrs. Sorenson, as she closed her door. Everyone responded to her question positively.

"I guess we're good then," said Mr. Sorenson. "Let's go, we're only a block away from the school."

The family made their way down the sidewalk, then turned at the corner. In front of them, on the other side of the street, was Crossroad Pass High School. Kendra was familiar with the place. It was where she had gone to school at the beginning of the previous school year, although only for the first week. After she had been kidnapped and gotten wrapped up in Oblivion's ploy to awaken Tritanoss, Kendra and Seth both found themselves being pulled out of school, only to be home-schooled by their mother from that point onward.

"So this is where you went to school?" asked Ingrid, as the family got closer to the property.

"Just for a few days," said Kendra.

"Bet you made tons of friends here, huh?" said Seth.

"Shut up, Seth. At least _I_ wasn't friends with someone who was a pawn of the Society."

"Don't diss Lance," said Seth. "He's cool! The real Lance, that is."

"Well sorry if I have trouble making friends," said Kendra. "But I prefer being taught in a small group with people I know, even if there's only three students."

"Make that six," said Mrs. Sorenson. "In the new semester, Raxtus, Skyfrost and Firesquall are going to be joining your class."

"Really?" asked Ingrid. "Why then?"

"Because they lack an education," said Warren. "They're smart, don't get me wrong. But they can't read or count past twenty. And I know they're capable of learning."

"Can we _not_ talk about school?" said Seth, as he stepped on to the front lawn of the schoolyard, where a number of other people were standing around. "At least let me enjoy what's left of the summer, would you?"

"As you wish," said Mr. Sorenson.

The family walked around the side of the school and entered the rear yard, where the actual fair was taking place. A ticket booth with a turnstile had been set up, serving as the entrance. Mr. Sorenson paid for everyone's tickets, and they all passed through into the school's rear yard.

The yard, which was large enough to contain a football field surrounded by a running track, had numerous tents set up throughout it, along with several carnival rides, the most prominent of which was a Ferris wheel that was sitting far end of the field. There appeared to be hundreds of people scattered throughout the area.

"This looks like it'll be a lot of fun!" said Ingrid.

"Dad, can we have some money?" asked Seth.

"You kids already got your allowances this week," said Mr. Sorenson. "And I know you have some money saved up."

" _Please_?" said Seth, giving his parents his best puppy-dog-eyes face.

"All right," said Mr. Sorenson, as he pulled out his wallet. He then thumbed through his bills, and pulled out several twenties. He proceeded to present one each to Seth, Kendra and Ingrid.

"Can I have one too?" asked Warren, his eyes widening. "I'll pay you back when I receive my stipend for September."

"Don't worry about it," said Mr. Sorenson, as he pulled out another twenty and handed it to Warren. "You're practically a brother to our children."

"Okay," said Mrs. Sorenson. "What does everyone want to do?"

"I dunno," said Kendra. "I should've asked Bracken to come. But he really hates being in large crowds of people. I can at least tolerate it, but Bracken really feels uncomfortable in them. He'll only put up with a crowd if he absolutely has too. But he certainly wouldn't enjoy it."

"Kendra, I'll hang out with you," said Warren.

"Thank you," said Mrs. Sorenson. "In fact, I think we should all stay in groups. Seth, why don't you go with Ingrid? Your father and I will be together as well."

Everybody agreed to Mrs. Sorenson's suggestion in unison.

"Okay," said Mr. Sorenson. "Marla, why don't we start with the antique car tent?"

"Let's check out the bazaar," said Kendra. "I bet there's some really interesting stuff we could purchase."

"Sure," said Warren. "You know, last year, there was this booth that sold corn dogs. I hope it's back again."

"What about you, Seth?" asked Ingrid. "What do you want to do?"

"I dunno," said Seth. "Let's just check out the midway and see what we can find."

"Okay then," said Mr. Sorenson. "We'll meet up at five o'clock, by the ticket booth. But try not to snack too much. Grandma said she's making us a big dinner."

The family then split up into three groups, which soon got separated amongst the large crowd of people in the area.

"So, Seth," said Ingrid, as they walked past several tents. "What looks interesting?"

"Why are we even here?" asked Seth, as he found himself a seat on a vacant bench.

"Seth, you agreed to not be in such a rotten mood. We're at a _fair_! Have some fun!"

"What's the point?" asked Seth. "It's not like we're accomplishing anything by coming here."

"Listen, Seth," said Ingrid, sitting down next to him, "please don't do this to me. I don't have fairy powers. I can't make you happy by force. But you seriously need to cheer up. I know! Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back!"

Ingrid walked over to a nearby booth that was selling various fair foods. She then returned a moment later, carrying two slushies and a stick of cotton candy.

"I think the heat's getting to you," said Ingrid, as she held out a slushie in each hand, along with the cotton candy. "You want the orange or the lime?"

"Lime," said Seth, accepting the green slushie from Ingrid. The moment that his humid hand touched the plastic cup that contained the slushie, Seth experienced a sudden chill from the frozen drink. He took a sip. It was certainly refreshing.

Seth and Ingrid spent the next few minutes consuming their slushies, while also tearing away at the stick of cotton candy. It had been a while since the last time Seth had eaten cotton candy. It was sweet, but he'd forgotten just how sticky the pink fluff could make his hand.

"Feel better?" asked Ingrid, as she sipped up the final drops of her slushie.

"I'll say," replied Seth. "I think that just curbed my sweet tooth. Thanks."

"Now that we've had a snack, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno. We can just walk around for now."

Ingrid nodded, and together, the two of them proceeded to walk down the midway. As they traveled, the two of them passed by numerous stalls, most of which were hosting carnival games, serving food, or selling various knickknacks.

They soon came across a small roller coaster, where many people were lined up. It was the type of roller coaster meant for younger children, as the track barely took up more space than the dining room back at Fablehaven, while the train resembled a serpentine green dragon with a cartoonish head for the front car. Upon taking a closer look, Seth saw that most pretty much everyone in the line was a small child, if not a guardian or older sibling who was accompanying them.

"I think we're a little big for this ride," said Ingrid. "It's too bad they don't have a bigger roller coaster. I've never been on a big one."

"We'll have to convince Grandpa that the next time we go on vacation, we go somewhere with lots of rides," said Seth.

"Mommy," said a little boy who was in line, "I get to ride the dragon!"

"I know," said the woman next to him, "he sure looks scary!"

Seth rolled his eyes, then held his mouth up to Ingrid's ear. "Poor folks. If only they knew what it was like to ride a _real_ dragon."

Ingrid snickered. "Let them have their fun. Come on, let's go look for something that we can both enjoy!"

Seth nodded. "Sure! There's bound to be something here that'll captivate us. Let's go find it!"


	2. Prizes and Surprises

**Chapter 2: Prizes and Surprises**

Seth and Ingrid proceeded to walk down the midway, navigating their way past the many people who were either standing around in one spot or walking in their path. Seth looked around at the various rides that were surrounding them, including a Tilt-a-Whirl, a large slide, a carousel and an octopus ride.

"See anything that interests you?" asked Ingrid.

Seth shook his head. "Not really. I think we've been spoiled by the dragons. Why should we pay money and stand in line for one of these rides, when we have access to way better rides at home for free? It doesn't really seem necessary."

"What about the Ferris wheel?" asked Ingrid, pointing to the large ride at the end of the yard. "It's not a fast ride, but you're supposed to cherish the experience. It's different than a dragon ride."

"I don't really feel like a ride right now," said Seth. "Do they have any bumper cars here? Those might be interesting. I don't think _bumper dragons_ would work quite the same way."

"I haven't noticed any. Let's keep looking."

Seth and Ingrid spent the next twenty minutes or so treading around the midway, but were unable to spot any more rides. The did find a funhouse along the way, as well as a house of mirrors, but neither of those attractions piqued their interests.

"Man, after all those vaults I've been through, who needs a funhouse?" asked Seth. "Of course, the fact that you _aren't_ likely to be maimed in one of them does sound like something I could appreciate.

"Well, I don't think there are any bumper cars at this fair," said Ingrid. "We've asked like five people, and none of them are aware of them."

"Whoa," said Seth, wiping some more sweat off of his forehead, "this heat is absolutely dreadful! "I'm gonna get a drink. You want anything, Ingrid?"

"Another drink already? But you just had that slushie!"

"Yeah, well I'm thirsty!"

"I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," said Seth, as he walked up to a booth that was selling concessions. He then ordered a large cup of root beer for himself. According to the sign, large drinks came in a 60 oz cup.

"Seth, that thing is _huge_!" exclaimed Ingrid, as Seth took his first gulp of root beer.

"That's the idea. You want a sip?"

"Maybe later. You want to check out the bazaar?"

"Sure," said Seth, as he followed Ingrid over to another part of the fair, nursing his large cup of soda.

"Hey there," said a voice. "You with the big drink!"

Seth and Ingrid both stopped and turned. To their right, they saw a man standing behind a booth at a what appeared to be a ring toss game.

"Me?" asked Seth.

"Yeah," replied the man. "Is that young lady your girlfriend?"

Seth froze. "Uh, well... kinda..."

Ingrid smirked, then rolled her eyes.

"How'd you like to try you luck and win her a prize?" asked the man. "You could be a big winner. Just land one ring on a bottle and you can pick any prize on display."

Seth looked at the game. In the center of the booth stood a flat of empty glass soda bottles. From what he could tell, one had to just successfully toss a small plastic ring onto the neck of a bottle. However, Seth knew from experience that games like these were next to impossible. He then looked up at the stuffed animals that were hanging from the ceiling. There was a myriad of toys, some of which were generic teddy bears and dogs, while others were licensed characters including Hello Kitty, Pikachu and SpongeBob Squarepants.

"No thanks," said Ingrid. "This game is probably harder than it looks. We can go elsewhere."

Ingrid then led Seth towards the bazaar, where stalls were selling all sorts of inexpensive trinkets, including everything from toys to wallets and jewelry. Other stalls were selling homemade products such as jams, honey, candles, fudge, bath soaps, plants and pottery. One stall was even selling personalized keychains, with a special machine that could print out any name upon request.

"Ingrid, you want your name on keyring?" asked Seth, as they stopped in front of the stall. He was still working on finishing his root beer.

"I don't really need one," replied Ingrid. "It's just a keyring. I already have one of those."

"Don't you see anything you like?"

Ingrid shook her head. "Some of it's nice. But I don't really need anything. Or it's just something like candy. Once it's eaten, it's gone."

Seth and Ingrid continued through the bazaar, then entered a tent where people were displaying various vegetables at their tables. Apparently, they were waiting to be judged as part of some competition. However, aside from admiring the produce, there wasn't much for Seth and Ingrid to do in there, so they went back to the midway.

Eventually, they came across an area on the track, where a performer was riding on a unicycle in front of a small crowd. Seth and Ingrid found a spot to stand, then turned their attention to the performer.

The performer's assistant proceeded to remove a torch from his bag, then lit it on fire and tossed it over to the performer, who caught it while cycling around on the spot. The assistant then tossed over another torch, which the performer caught in her other hand. As the assistant lit a third torch, the performer shook her head in disagreement. Ignoring her plea, the assistant tossed the third torch at the performer, who in turn proceeded to juggle it.

"Okay," said Seth. "Now _this_ is interesting!"

The performance went on for a while longer. While the performer eventually tossed the torches back at her assistant one at a time, who in turn doused their flames, she soon found herself juggling three swords at once. At that, the performer got off her unicycle, and proceeded to _eat_ the fire from one of her torches.

"Cool!" said Seth, as he tossed a five dollar bill into the performer's donation box once the performance ended. The performer personally thanked Seth, as he and Ingrid proceeded to walk off.

"See, we found something enjoyable," said Ingrid.

"Yeah. Too bad it didn't last longer. Performing like that is something I just can't do. It's really something I was able to appreciate."

Seth and Ingrid soon walked past another game booth, when Ingrid let out an excited gasp.

"What is it?" asked Seth, as he turned towards Ingrid, who was gazing over at the booth with her mouth hanging open in awe.

"Look at that pegasus!" exclaimed Ingrid, prompting Seth to turn his head over towards the game. He studied the many stuffed animals that were hanging on display. Surely enough, he spotted what appeared to be a white pegasus with a silvery, almost platinum mane and tail.

"Oh yeah," said Seth, who wasn't sure what to think. To him, the pegasus was just a doll.

"I don't have a plush pegasus. Unicorn, yes. But not a pegasus! Those are rare! I've never even seen one before!"

"I see."

"And tell me, doesn't the pegasus remind you of Bracken? If he _were_ a pegasus, and not a unicorn, that is."

Seth took a good look at the plush. Roughly two feet in length, it did somewhat remind him of Bracken, only with wings instead of a horn. It didn't even appear to be feminine, but gender-neutral. Seth didn't know what to think, except that the resemblance to Bracken was fairly uncanny.

"Oh, I don't even have a unicorn that resembles Bracken! And as much as I love unicorns, I'm even more fascinated by pegasi! Their wings are so gorgeous. They're like angelic horses. I really want that pegasus!"

"You want me to try to win it for you?" asked Seth.

Ingrid displayed a wide grin and nodded her head.

"Okay, let's see what I can do."

Seth walked up towards the front of the booth. From what he could tell, the objective of the game was to toss a ball into a basket that had been fixed into a titled position without it bouncing back out.

"You interested in playing?" asked the carny.

"Do I just have to get the ball in the basket to win?"

"Yup. It's easy. Anyone can do it!" The carny proceeded to toss a softball into one of the baskets. "Want to give it a try?"

"Please, Seth?" asked Ingrid.

"Okay. "I'll give it a shot. Do I just have to win once to get the pegasus plush, or do I need to trade up for it?"

"Just one win is all it takes!"

Seth handed the carny some money, and in turn the carny gave him the softball. "This seems too good to be true."

Seth tossed the softball into the basket. However, it ricocheted off the bottom and bounced back out onto the floor of the booth.

"Ooh, not quite," said the carny, as he picked up the ball.

"I think I threw it too hard," said Seth, as he paid the carny for another go.

Seth then through the next ball underhand and into the basket. However, it too bounced out.

"Oh, come on!" groaned Ingrid.

"I know," said Seth, paying the carny for a third try. This time, he deliberately aimed for the upper side of the titled basket, hoping that the ball would rebound down into the lower part and get stuck there. Seth then threw the ball into the basket, aiming for the upper part. Somehow, it still managed to pop out.

"This is impossible!" grumbled Seth.

"Let me try," said Ingrid, as she handed the carny some money. "I can't believe you aren't getting it, Seth."

"Sorry I don't throw like a girl."

Ingrid scoffed at Seth's remark, and threw the ball into the basket. As to be expected, it bounced out.

"I almost had it!" muttered Ingrid, as she paid for another chance. Seth watched Ingrid threw the ball into the basket as gently as she could. It fell in, but alas, it bounced back out.

"Sorry," said the carny.

"Forget it," said Ingrid as she started to walk off. "This game is rigged."

"Ingrid, did you notice that pegasus at another game?" asked Seth, keeping up with Ingrid. "Maybe we could try for it elsewhere."

Ingrid shook her head. "No. Only that stupid ball toss game had it."

"It's only a stuffed animal," said Seth.

"I know. But I _really_ wanted that pegasus."

"I really wanted to win it for you. I tried my best. But that game was impossible!"

"I don't know why," said Ingrid, "but if we'd have been trying for any other prize, I wouldn't care if we didn't win it. That pegasus, though... I really wanted it! And it was the only pegasus that guy even had!"

"Ingrid, is the main reason that you wanted the pegasus because it reminded you of Bracken?"

Ingrid stopped, sighed, then nodded.

"Seth, I think I'm... _jealous_ of Kendra."

"No kidding. She gets to be fairykind, while you're an average girl, and I'm... well... you know..."

"She has Bracken for a boyfriend. Bracken. Kendra's boyfriend is a royal unicorn. I just wanted something similar that I could call my own. Even if it was only a toy. Something that was similar, but different."

"Let's keep looking," said Seth. "Another game might have one that we just didn't realize at first."

For the next little while, Seth and Ingrid scoured the midway, trying to find another game that offered a duplicate of the pegasus plush. There were not a whole lot of games, but Seth kept a strong eye out for a pegasus, just in case.

"All this walking around is making me thirsty," said Ingrid, as she walked over towards a concession stand and ordered a drink for herself.

"Me too," said Seth, as he lined up after Ingrid and ordered himself a lemonade. Once they both had their drinks, they found themselves some seats in the bleachers.

Seth downed his lemonade fairly quickly. However, he was unable to get his mind off of the pegasus.

"Seth, take it easy," said Ingrid. "I was overreacting in all this heat. I don't need the pegasus. It... just would have been nice to have."

"I just wish it weren't so impossible to win. You think maybe I could've just bought it from the guy?"

"Yeah, if you paid him a hundred dollars," laughed Ingrid. "But, let's take it easy. I'll get over it. I was just overexcited. Don't worry. Say, you want to go for a ride on the Ferris wheel now?"

"Sure," replied Seth, glancing over at the rotating ride at the end of the yard.

Suddenly, Seth could feel a throbbing feeling pounding from within his pelvis. It was his bladder. He had to go to bathroom!

"Ingrid, hold on! I really need to go to the bathroom! Like, now!"

Ingrid rolled her eyes. "Can't say I'm surprised. You've been drinking all afternoon!"

"Well, it's hot out! Did you see a bathroom around here?"

"They were located back that way a bit," said Ingrid, pointing back in the direction from which they had been walking.

"I hope so," said Seth, as he scurried through the crowd, while Ingrid followed along behind him. "I feel like I'm going to explode!"

Soon Seth came across a large portable bathroom trailer, where he stopped running in his tracks. However, to his dismay, several people were all lined up for both the men's and women's rooms, waiting to get inside.

"This looks fun," said Ingrid, speaking sarcastically.

"This line's gonna be here all day," moaned Seth, who could now feel as the pain in his body returned due to the fact that he had stopped running.

"Hey, the line for the women's room is even longer!"

"I just need to take a whiz," said Seth. "Maybe I could do it off in the bushes somewhere, where nobody's around."

"Without washing your hands?" asked Ingrid.

"If that's what it takes. Look, I can't wait in this stupid line. There's gotta be another bathroom somewhere around here!"

"I bet all the bathrooms are packed in this place," said a man, who appeared to be last in line for the men's room.

"This is ridiculous," said Seth. He then looked off to his side at an entrance to the school that was between two sets of bleachers. He observed as the doors opened up, and a man carrying a cardboard box in his hands walked out towards the field.

"I've got an idea," said Seth, as he scampered away from the small crowd and over towards the doors to the school. Ingrid followed him.

"Where are you going?" asked Ingrid.

"These doors are unlocked. And there's bathrooms inside the school. Why not use one of them instead of the stupid trailer?"

Pulling on one of the handles, Seth opened the door and slipped into the middle of the rear hallway of Crossroad Pass High School. Both walls of the empty hallway were seemingly lined from one end to the other with blue lockers, plus a few doors that led to other rooms scattered throughout.

"Where's the bathroom?" asked Seth, looking around for any clues he could find.

"How should I know?" asked Ingrid. "I've never been here! But I'm sure we'll find it if we look around."

Seth and Ingrid proceeded to dash down towards one end of the hallway, glancing at every door they passed by. Most of them were classrooms, but none were bathrooms. Seth was getting desperate. Right now he would even consider using the girls' room if the boys' was nowhere to be found.

As they turned around the corner, Seth and Ingrid continued down the next hallway. As they passed by another door, both of them stopped in their tracks when they saw a sign on it, indicating that it was the boys' washroom.

"Finally!" exclaimed Seth, as he came to a halt, for he and Ingrid had unintentionally run a few feet past the door.

"Okay, hurry up," said Ingrid, as Seth scrambled towards the door. "I don't think we're even supposed to be in here!"

Seth pushed against the door and opened it inwards. Despite having a keyhole, it wasn't locked! With no more obstacles in his path, Seth bolted into the washroom and made his way over to the urinals. There were no line ups in here. He was completely alone!

At last, Seth was able to relieve himself of having to go to the bathroom. It took him a considerably longer time than usual to finish his business, but Seth had consumed a number of beverages beforehand, so he supposed that his actions were justified.

Once he finally was finished, Seth made his way over to the sinks. He proceeded to wash his hands, making sure to lather them with pink liquid soap from the dispenser. As he was attending to washing the soap off of his hands, Seth became startled when somebody tapped him on his shoulder.

"Ingrid," said Seth, still preoccupied with rinsing his hands, "what?"

"Hello, Seth!" said an all-too-familiar, but fearsome voice.

A chill running down his spine, Seth shut off the faucet. He then turned his head up and gazed into the mirror. Standing behind him were none other than Xipp, Xeero and Xillch. The red, blue and green adlets, all of whom dwarfed Seth, were gazing at his reflection menacingly. Unable to believe his eyes, Seth turned around.

Surely enough, Seth had not been imagining things. The moment he turned his face away from the mirror, Seth saw that the three adlets really were standing before him. And they clearly looked very pleased to be seeing him once again.


	3. The Return of Murdred

**Chapter 3: The Return of Murdred**

Seth stared blankly into the eyes of the adlets, all three of whom were looming over him in the high school washroom. They were all breathing down upon him heavily, to the point were Seth could feel as each of them exhaled their pungent, dog-like breath.

Immediately, Seth noticed that the adlets were all wearing black crystals around their necks, as though they were pendants. Behind the adlets, Seth noticed that there was an open black portal situated against the far wall of the washroom. Obviously, they had been tracking him. But how?

"No..." muttered Seth. "Why are... How can you do this?"

"Lord Murdred has been looking for you," said Xipp. "And now, you are his for the taking."

Seth knew that he was in great danger if he didn't act fast. He then remembered that he still had the Pyruby in his pocket! However, before he could reach for it, Xeero dove at Seth's legs and wrapped his claws around them, throwing Seth off guard. The blue adlet then lifted Seth up by his ankles and slung the boy over his shoulder.

Now hanging over Xeero's back, Seth found himself unable to reach into his pockets with his hands. He proceeded to pound his fists against Xeero's back, only for their impact to be softened by the adlet's thick, blue fur. Why wasn't there a fairy angel around when he really needed one?

"Give it up," said Xeero, who didn't seem to be affected by Seth's retaliation.

Not knowing what else he could do, Seth attempted to mentally take control of Xeero using his shadow charmer powers. He focused as furiously as he could, but it didn't seem to be making any difference whatsover. The three adlets turned away from the sinks, so that they were now facing the portal they had entered through.

"LET ME GO!" shrieked Seth. "HELP!"

"Shut up," said Xillch. "We're taking you to see Lord Murdred, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"SETH!" screamed Ingrid at the top of her lungs. Turning his head towards the entrance to the washroom, Seth could see Ingrid, no doubt in shock upon laying her eyes on the adlets.

"YOU!" blurted Xipp. "You're not getting away from us!"

"INGRID!" cried Seth. "Get out of here! Go find the others! Get help!"

Ingrid turned back towards the door and quickly pulled it open. As it was closing, she slipped through it, just before it closed in the adlets' faces. Xipp then pulled the door open, and the three adlets emerged in the hallway of the school.

"Where'd she go?" asked Xeero.

"She went that way!" blurted Xillch, pointing back towards the corner that Seth and Ingrid had initially come through on their way to the bathroom.

Xipp and Xillch got down on all fours and proceeded to scampered around the corner, while Xeero continued to hold onto Seth.

"Get back here!" roared Xipp, as Xeero carried Seth around the corner.

"Put me down!" cried Ingrid. Although he was unable to see the commotion from his position, Seth could sense that one of the other adlets had captured Ingrid. As Xeero turned himself around, Seth could see that Ingrid had been caught by Xillch, and was being carried in the same manner as Seth.

"Come on," said Xipp, "let's get these two back to Murdred! He's been waiting to see both of you again!"

"I said let me go!" roared Seth, as he pounded against Xeero with his fists as fiercely as he could with.

"That's enough," said Xeero, as he proceeded to grab onto Seth's wrists with his other claw, almost holding the boy as though he were a shawl being wrapped around his neck.

Seth knew that there was nothing that he or Ingrid could do at this point. The adlets were far too strong for them to take on bare-handed, and there was probably nobody else in the entire building who could hear them. Even still, if there was anyone who _could_ hear them, they likely wouldn't be prepared to deal with three adlets at once.

"Someone help!" cried Ingrid.

"Shut up," said Xillch, as he and the other adlets proceeded to walk back towards washroom.

Seth and Ingrid fought to escape from the adlets, but were unable to free themselves. After entering the washroom, the adlets brought Seth and Ingrid across to the far wall. Suddenly, they passed through the still-open portal, moving from the boy's washroom at Crossroad Pass High School and arriving in a room in Murdred's castle.

The sight of being inside Murdred's castle brought back memories to Seth, most of which were rather horrific. As Seth got his bearings, he was able to recognize the room. Judging by the doors and the tall walls, they had probably arrived in Murdred's throne room.

Xeero then lifted Seth off of his shoulders and proceeded to place his feet down on the floor in front of him. Now that he was facing forwards, Seth was able to see who was standing before him, Ingrid and the adlets.

Surely enough, Murdred and Helwic were standing in front of Seth. Seth gazed up at Murdred in horror. The monstrous, human-turned demon god held an imposing stance, as he glared down at Seth. He appeared to be in better shape than when they had last met, as his skin had returned to its proper inky black tone, and his white eyes were glowing intensely.

Helwic was standing next to Murdred. Although Murdred dwarfed her, the negafae had just as much reason to be feared as Murdred himself. Helwic's long, orange hair was by far the most vibrant feature between herself and Murdred, but it did not fill Seth's mind with any positive thoughts.

However, the most glaring sight were the crystals that Murdred and Helwic were wearing. Just like the adlets, both of them were each wearing a black crystal on a chain around their neck.

"At last," said Murdred, "we meet again, Seth Sorenson."

Seth turned back towards the portal, and watched as it inexplicably sealed itself up.

"Going somewhere?" asked Helwic, who had inevitably been the one that closed the portal.

In his mind, Seth was freaking out. This whole experience... It couldn't be real. It just couldn't. Seth was hoping that he would immediately wake up in his bed at Fablehaven, and that this whole thing would've just been a bad dream. But it wasn't. It was too real.

"I have big plans for you, Seth," said Murdred. "You'll see."

"I see _you're_ no longer pink,"

"That was a sick-minded joke on behalf of your accursed sister. But she will rue the day she scandalized me!"

"How did you find us?" asked Ingrid.

"With... this!" said Murdred, as he closed his two main eyes. He then proceeded to open his third eye.

"DON'T LOOK AT IT!" blurted Seth, as he squinted his eyes shut. Although he was unable to see her, he hoped that Ingrid had done the same.

Murdred laughed. "I'm not wasting that power on you two."

Seth cautiously opened his eyes, and took a quick peak at Murdred. The demon god no longer had his third eye open. Instead, he was back to his regular two.

"Your eye," said Seth, "it's back..."

"No thanks to _yo_ u. You see, after my defeat at Fablehaven, courtesy of _her_..." Murdred proceeded to point at Ingrid. "I was left with no choice but to drastically increase security around my castle, in case you deviants dared to infiltrate this place ever again. However, in the process, a cache of dark crystals were discovered underneath the grounds of the castle.

"Dark crystals?" asked Ingrid.

"These things," replied Murdred, as he fondled the black crystal that was dangling from his neck. The inverse of those wretched light crystals, dark crystals not only allowed me to regain my power and restore my third eye, but have also made me an even more formidable being to contend with. In fact, I should probably be thankful. Had you Knights of the Dawn not pushed me into better fortifying this castle, these dark crystals might never have been discovered."

"Is that how you found us?" asked Ingrid.

"It's how I found _Seth._ "My third eye is able to detect sources of darkness pretty well anywhere. Even in other worlds."

"What do you want with us?" asked Seth. "You got your crystals, what do you need us for?"

"I really only need you, Seth," replied Murdred. "But her..." he continued pointing at Ingrid again, "she will be destroyed."

"No!" screamed Ingrid. "You can't do this!"

"No one tells Lord Murdred what he can and can't do!" roared Murdred. " _I_ am a _god_!"

Murdred advanced towards Ingrid, reaching his hands out towards her. She backed away, but Murdred was closing in on her.

"You leave her alone!" screamed Seth.

"Don't interfere!" hissed Xipp, as he and the other adlets stepped between Seth and Murdred.

"Enough!" snapped Seth. Remembering that he had the Pyruby on him, he shoved his hand into his pocked and pulled out the relic. Without a second thought, Seth proceeded to unleash his relic's power and shot a wave of fire at the three adlets.

All three adlets squealed in agony upon being blasted by the Pyruby, and proceeded to scamper around the room, no doubt trying to cope with the pain that the fire had inflicted upon them. Consequently, their actions had distracted Murdred from pursuing Ingrid.

"What the..." blurted Murdred, staring over at Seth as the adlets continued to try and soothe their burns. "Is that the... Pyruby?"

"It must be!" exclaimed Helwic. "I didn't even suspect that it had been found!"

Seth then shot a blast of fire from the Pyruby directly at Murdred, prompting the demon god to try and shield himself with his arms. Seth recalled that while it was still possible to inflict physical harm upon Murdred, the tyrant was ultimately immortal, and would rapidly recover from any damage.

"Enough already!" hissed Helwic, as she raised her hands into the air, allowing fireballs to form in her palms.

Without so much as second thought, Seth proceeded to blast Helwic with the Pyruby as well. Despite the fact that the negafae relied on fire of her own, she reacted to being hit by the Pyruby as well, and bolted away from where Seth had been aiming at her.

With all of his enemies momentarily felled by the fire of the Pyruby, Seth looked over at Ingrid, who in turn was looking back at him.

"Seth!" cried Ingrid, "what do we do?"

"I don't know! Let's just get out of here!"

Without a second thought, Seth and Ingrid dashed over toward the doors at the entrance to the throne room. Surprisingly enough, one of the doors had, for whatever reason, been left open a crack. Seth was relieved to see this, as he recalled that the doors of the castle typically could only opened if an authorized voice told them to do so. Without any hesitation, the two siblings bolted out through the open door, and into the castle hallway.

Seth and Ingrid then proceeded to run down the hallway, heading towards the top of the vast stairwell that was situated in the front of the castle. As they ran, Seth glanced back towards the throne room to see if they were being followed. So far, they were in the clear.

Once they reached the stairs, Seth looked down and was reminded of just how big each individual step really was. As the castle had been scaled for creatures somewhat larger than human beings, each step was well over one foot lower than the one preceding it. Fortunately, Seth and Ingrid only had to traverse down the stairs, so the size discrepancy wasn't such a huge issue for them.

After passing down a good dozen or so long flights of stairs, Seth and Ingrid finally made it to the ground floor of the castle, where they were now standing in the vast entry hall. Having not stopped since fleeing from the throne room, Seth and Ingrid took a fair bit of time to catch their breaths.

"Seth..." gasped Ingrid, speaking between breaths, "that was terrifying!"

"I'm surprised..." said Seth, "stopping to take a breath, "that they haven't gone after us already!"

"Well, I don't want to stay here to find out. Come on!"

Seth followed Ingrid across the hall and up to the large doors that served as the main entrance to the building. Unlike the ones in the throne room, these doors were closed.

"How are we supposed to get through here?" asked Ingrid. "We can't get these doors open by ourselves. It was dumb luck that the throne room doors weren't even closed. But this is."

"There's usually a sentry standing guard on the other side," said Seth, thinking back to the purple warthog-esque monster that was usually positioned outside the entrance to the castle. "Maybe if we make enough commotion, he'll open up the door to check on us, and we can make a break for it."

"What if it doesn't work?" asked Ingrid. "I know! You can burn through the door with the Pyruby! Duh!"

"I dunno," said Seth. "The doors are pretty thick, and we have no way of safely putting out the flames. Man, I wish Skyfrost were here. Or even Warren with the Sapphazure."

"Wait a minite," said Ingrid. "Forget this exit! What about that secret passage in the basement? The one that Malfunk showed us?"

"Of course! I don't think Murdred even knows about it! It goes underneath the lava moat and comes out on the other side. We won't even have to deal with that stupid guard!"

"Come on," said Ingrid. "I think the passage was down that way somewhere."

Agreeing with Ingrid, Seth and his sister scurried across the entry hall and ventured into a smaller hallway off to one side. As they passed by several closed doors, Seth continuously prayed to himself that nobody, be it Murdred, Helwic, or even the adlets, would catch them off guard.

"I've got to wonder," said Ingrid, "why do you suppose Helwic was affected by the Pyruby's fire? I mean, she seems to already be a fire elemental negafae."

"I have no idea," replied Seth. "Not that I'm complaining. I guess maybe it's because Helwic's fire has different properties than regular fire, seeing as how she uses it as a form of magic. Who knows? I wasn't even thinking when I attacked her. I'm just glad it worked."

Soon Seth and Ingrid came across a stairway that lead down into the lower levels of the castle. Theses stairs weren't quite a large as the ones in the main hall, but they were still considerably big.

"I sure hope this is the right way," said Seth. "I seem to recall it being down here as well, so I'm inclined to agree with you."

Seth and Ingrid continued down the spiraling stairwell, which went considerably deep. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairwell, the brick walls of the castle had been replaced with solid rock, implying that they had gone beneath the castle's lowest floor.

Seth and Ingrid continued down the tunnel that they had emerged in, but soon came across a four-way intersection.

"Uh, which way do we go?" asked Ingrid.

"I can't remember," said Seth. "We only came through here once before, and we were going the other way at the time."

"Right or left?" asked Ingrid, taking a moment to peer down in both directions.

"I dunno. Right?"

"Might as well try it," said Ingrid, as they made their way down the passage to the right. After passing around a corner, they found themselves faced with a dead end.

"Guess it was left," said Seth, as he and Ingrid turned around and backtracked towards the crossroad, where they instead proceeded down the other path.

"How will you know when we've found the door?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm not sure," said Seth. "The door was more of a secret passage, disguised as a rock. I think I'll know it when I see it."

"At least this place doesn't seem to be as bad as that Dungeon of Despair. That place gave me nightmares!"

"Oh, and I suppose this place is what dreams are made of, ain't it?"

"Bad dreams, yes," said Ingrid. "But somehow, as scary as the maze was, that cyclops seemed like less of threat than Murdred."

"The cyclops was aggressive by nature. But Murdred? He's aggressive by free will. Of course he's going to be worse."

"Even if we get out of this castle, how will we escape from the Demon Domain?" asked Ingrid.

Seth shook his head. "I don't know. But at least we won't be trapped in this stupid place."

Seth and Ingrid continued down several more twists and turns, running into a few more dead ends. However, Seth sensed that they were making progress, when they arrived at a large, metal door.

"I remember this!" exclaimed Seth, staring at the currently closed door that stood before him.

"Of course!" said Ingrid. "This is where Murdred held Stargleam, Windshear and all those fairies captive! It's where we found Kendra after she got separated."

Seth took in a deep breath. "This place is dreadful. I'm so glad we were able to help them. But you know what? I remember that this room was near the secret passage! Come on! We're almost there!"

Ingrid followed Seth back the way they came, where he opted to turn down another path. Surely enough, at the end of the path, there was a large rock formation sticking out of the wall.

"This is it!" exclaimed Seth. "Hopefully we can get it open by ourselves."

Seth and Ingrid both grasped onto the rock, and attempted to pull it out, away from the wall. Although it was fairly heavy, the two of them managed to slide it back enough to create a space wide enough to slip through. Seth figured that without Ingrid's help, he might not have been able to move the rock at all.

Once they passed through the opening, Seth and Ingrid grabbed onto the grooves that were on the back of the rock and pulled it forward, effectively closing the passageway. They then turned around and continued down the tunnel.

As the tunnel began to slope downwards, Seth and Ingrid came to a sudden halt, when they saw what lay before them. At the bottom of the incline was a pool of red-hot lava, effectively blocking their escape route.


	4. Missing

**Chapter 4: Missing**

Sitting in the gondola at the top of the Ferris wheel, Kendra gazed out at the expanse that lay before her. The township of Crossroad Pass was tiny, no questioning that. However, no matter which direction Kendra looked in, it gave her the impression that Crossroad Pass was just a tiny island, and that the surrounding countryside was like a vast ocean.

"Sure is quite a view," said Warren, who was sitting in the seat across from Kendra, looking out towards the west. It was now later in the afternoon, but the sun had not quite begun to set in the horizon.

"Yeah," said Kendra, who couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"What's wrong? You haven't had much of your funnel cake."

"It just isn't the same without Bracken," said Kendra, who had been ignoring the cardboard plate in her hand, on which sat a fried pastry that had been dusted with powdered sugar. Only a small portion of the cake had been torn out.

"I'm sorry about Bracken,"

"I love you too and everything," said Kendra. "But Bracken... he's special."

"I understand. But you know that he doesn't like huge crowds like this."

"I know. But still."

"Have some more of your funnel cake," said Warren. "It looks delicious."

"Help yourself," said Kendra, passing the plate over to Warren. "We'll be going home after this anyway."

As the Ferris wheel went around, Kendra did what she could to try and enjoy the ride, but couldn't keep her mind off of Bracken. She watched as Warren tore off pieces of the funnel cake before eating them. He offered a few pieces back to Kendra, but she turned them all down.

After another minute or so, the Ferris wheel slowed down, as riders proceeded to exit the ride one gondola at a time. Soon it was Kendra and Warren's turn to get off, and they found themselves back on the midway.

"We'd better be getting back," said Warren, tossing the empty plate into a nearby garbage can. Kendra could still see smudges of powdered sugar covering his lips and fingertips.

"Thanks again for winning me this penguin", said Kendra, as she held up a two-foot pink and white stuffed penguin. "It's really cute."

"What can I say?" said Warren. "That water gun game is easy when you're experienced with the Sapphazure."

Kendra and Warren soon made their way across the midway and back to the ticket booth, where Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson were already waiting. They were both holding shopping bags in their hands.

"There you are!" said Mr. Sorenson. "We picked up a few things at the bazaar."

"What'd you win?" asked Mrs. Sorenson, admiring the penguin.

"Warren won it for me," said Kendra. Warren nodded.

"Terrific," said Mrs. Sorenson. "We're just waiting for Seth and Ingrid to get back. Then we'll get going."

"Should we call them?" asked Warren.

"It's still a little early," said Mr. Sorenson. "They should be back soon. As long as Ingrid doesn't let Seth boss her around too much."

Not knowing how long it would take for her brother and sister to make their way back to the meeting point, Kendra found herself a seat on a bench. As with the rest of her family, Kendra waited and watched as people continuously passed by her family. However, none of them turned out to be neither Seth nor Ingrid.

After fifteen minutes had passed, Kendra soon found herself staring towards the midway, hoping that she could somehow spot Seth and Ingrid from her current position.

"Oh, where are they?" muttered Kendra. "I want to get going already!"

"This is ridiculous," said Mr. Sorenson. "They've had ample time. I'm calling Seth right now."

Mr. Sorenson pulled his phone from out of his pocket and proceeded to call Seth. However, as soon as he held the phone up to his ear, he pulled it away and hung up.

"What's wrong?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

Mr. Sorenson shook his head. "I got a prerecorded message saying that the person I've dialed is unavailable at the moment."

"I don't the sound of that," said Warren.

"I'll try Ingrid then," said Mr. Sorenson. "Hopefully it won't be two for two."

Mr. Sorenson then dialed Ingrid. Rather than having Ingrid answer, he hung up his phone in dismay.

"Ingrid too?" asked Mrs. Sorenson. "What could've happened to them?"

"I don't know," replied Mr. Sorenson. "Unless it's just a problem with the phone network. I'm at full bars, though. Let's just make sure. I'll call you, Marla. See if it goes through."

Mr. Sorenson then dialed Mrs. Sorenson's phone number. A moment later, her phone started to ring.

"Seems to work just fine," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she turned down her husband's test phone call.

"Well, where the heck are they?" asked Mr. Sorenson, as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions," said Warren. "But at the same time, we shouldn't be taking any chances. Besides, I'm getting tired of waiting. I say we look for them with the Oculus."

"Works for me," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"I know we drove here, but I brought this thing along just in case," said Warren, as he removed the Translocator from a bag he had been carrying over his shoulder. "Be right back."

Kendra followed Warren as he slipped around a corner of the school. She watched as Warren twisted the Translocator in his hands, causing his body to suddenly vanish into thin air.

While waiting for Warren to return, Kendra and her parents went back to waiting for Seth and Ingrid, hoping that they would somehow return on their own. At one point, Mr. Sorenson even contemplated trying to find a police officer, but Kendra assured him that the Oculus would be a lot more effective.

Before long, Warren walked up to the Sorensons, no doubt having returned to the school via the Translocator. He then presented the Oculus to Kendra, who was sitting down on the bench again.

"Okay," said Warren. "I hope that this does the trick. Work your magic, Kendra."

Kendra nodded, then proceeded to clench the Oculus firmly in her hands. Closing her eyes and allowing herself to focus, Kendra drowned out the noise of all the people who were passing by in front of her.

Kendra then envisioned Seth in her mind. Concentrating as best as she could, Kendra expected to see a vision of her brother. However, nothing seemed to come into view. She was not feeling good about the situation at all.

Still using the Oculus, Kendra then focused on Ingrid. As had been the case with her brother, Kendra was unable to make out Ingrid as well. Clearly something had happened to both her and Seth. Something bad.

"It's no use," said Kendra, shaking her head as she opened her eyes, bringing her vision back to the schoolyard. "I can't find Seth or Ingrid."

"No..." said Mrs. Sorenson. "What could've happened to them?"

"I've got two guesses," replied Warren. "Neither of which bode well. One is that they've been hexed, and are being shielded from the Oculus somehow. But it's unlikely. My other guess is that they've entered the Demon Domain."

"The Demon Domain?" asked Mr. Sorenson. "But... how?"

"The same way as always. Through a portal. If that's the case, then Seth and Ingrid are long gone."

"No!" gasped Mrs. Sorenson.

Warren held up his hands. "Look, I'm not one-hundred percent certain. It's just a guess. But I've got reason to believe that it's the most likely situation."

"It can't be Murdred again?" asked Mr. Sorenson. "Can it?"

"How would Murdred even find Seth?" asked Kendra. "His third eye was destroyed!"

"This whole situation is beyond me," said Warren. "But whatever has happened to Seth and Ingrid, we've got to get help. We need to get home right away."

"The car's still parked here," said Mr. Sorenson. "We've got to drive it back."

"Understood. Kendra, you and I will head back home using the Translocator. Scott and Marla, you'd better drive back."

"Got it," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"We'll ask around first and see if we can find out if there was any unusual activity around here," said Mr. Sorenson. "Maybe somebody knows something."

Warren then led Kendra and her parents around the corner to the front of the school, where they were all out of sight from the people who were leaving the fair.

"This is where we say goodbye," said Warren. "There's no time to lose. We're going to be heading into the Demon Domain as soon as we can."

"Kendra," said Mr. Sorenson, as he held out his arms. "In case your mother and I don't see you again... for a while."

Kendra proceeded to give her father a hug, then followed up by hugging her mother. Likewise, her parents also hugged Warren.

"I sure hope Seth and Ingrid are okay," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"Goodbye!" said Mr. Sorenson. "And good luck!"

As everyone bid farewell to each other, Kendra placed a hand on the Translocator. She proceeded to wave at her parents, even as Warren twisted the artifact, transporting both him and herself back to the living room at Fablehaven.

"So," said Grandpa, whose voice caught Kendra by surprise. "What did you discover?"

Kendra turned around, and saw that Grandpa, Grandma and Dale were all sitting on a couch.

"Warren briefed us when he came to pick up the Oculus," said Dale.

Kendra shook her head. "I wasn't able to find Seth or Ingrid. I'm sorry. I tried."

"I'm don't like where this is going," said Grandma. "If the Oculus was unable to locate Seth and Ingrid, there's a very high chance that they've crossed into the Demon Domain somehow."

Grandpa shook his head and raised his arms. "Now, Ruth. I too believe that Murdred is the one who's behind all of this. However, we mustn't make accusations."

"Come on," said Dale, as he crossed his arms. "It's obviously him."

"He's our prime suspect," said Grandpa. "So it's worth venturing into the Demon Domain to see if Seth and Ingrid can even be located."

"I'm worried, though," said Kendra. "If Murdred did somehow find Seth and Ingrid and get them into the Demon Domain, why would he stop there? What's to stop him from coming after the rest of us?"

"That's a lot to ponder over," said Grandma. "But I have a feeling that whatever Murdred did, he was able to do so because Seth and Ingrid were outside the protective boundaries of Fablehaven."

"But you guys were only gone for a few hours!" stated Dale. "It's almost as though Murdred was keeping tabs on you, somehow. If he even _is_ the one behind all of this."

"Let's just assume it's him," said Warren. "This thing's got his name written all over it."

"Whatever happened, Seth and Ingrid are gone," said Kendra, who let out a sigh. "I was hoping that we'd never have to return to the Demon Domain ever again. I still have nightmares about that place."

"What's worse is that Murdred will be expecting retaliation from us," said Grandma. "This whole thing is starting to sound like a giant trap."

"Then why would he only go after Seth and Ingrid?" asked Kendra. "And not the rest of us?"

"Seth is the one he actually wants," said Grandpa. "If Ingrid got taken as well, it only would've been because she was with Seth at the time."

"I want to help," said Kendra. "I'm so scared for them. But that means going back into the Demon Domain."

"We'll get help, first," said Warren. "We'll head over to the Fairy Kingdom and see if we can at least get Bracken on our team. How's that sound?"

"A bit better," said Kendra. The thought of Bracken joining them brought a feeling of hope to her heart. But it was still a lot to contend with. "It's just that going back into the Demon Domain... I'd rather go anywhere but there! It's horrible!"

"How do you think your siblings must feel, then?" asked Dale.

The thought of Seth and Ingrid being locked up Murdred's dungeon sent a chill down Kendra's spine. "I get it. But venturing into the Demon Domain... That place is dangerous!"

"Well then," said Warren. "Let's get dangerous!"

"First we get Bracken," said Kendra. "He should be back in the Fairy Kingdom by this point."

Warren nodded, then went ahead and wound up the Translocator, which had still been holding in his hands since arriving at home. "Anytime you're ready, Kendra."

Kendra proceeded to place her hand upon the Translocator, then looked back at the rest of her family.

"We won't be gone long," said Warren. "Hopefully, Bracken is willing to go along with all of this."

The rest of the family said their farewells to Kendra and Warren, as the Translocator proceeded to hurl the two of them through space.

A moment later, Kendra opened her eyes to see that she and Warren were now outside. Taking a moment to gaze around, Kendra discovered that they had arrived in the Fairy Kingdom, and were standing in the plaza that was situated outside of the royal castle.

The crystal walls of the castle were glistening in the light of the setting sun, the sight of which never failed to impress Kendra. The plaza was also filled with numerous gardens, hedges and trees, along with several fountains.

"Kendra Sorenson," said a full-sized fairy, who had been standing towards the entrance to the castle. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

Kendra and Warren proceeded to approach the fairy, then stopped once they had reached her. Kendra recognized the fairy, as she was on the castle's many guards.

"Thank you," said Kendra. "But this is urgent. We need to see Bracken right away."

"Absolutely," said the fairy. "Go on in."

Kendra and Warren made their way into the castle, where they arrived in the entry hall. A vast chandelier made up of hundred of crystals in a rainbow of colors was suspended from a very high ceiling, situated over a fountain adorned with a crystal statue of the Fairy Queen.

"This way," said Kendra, as she led Warren up a stairwell, each step of which was made out of a countless amethysts. She then continued down a hallway and stopped in front of a set of diamond doors, the surfaces of which had hundreds of diamond-shaped markings carved into them.

Kendra knocked on one of the doors. "Bracken! It's me!"

Suddenly, both of the doors slowly opened inwards, granting Kendra and Warren access into the room. The two of them both passed through the doors and stepped into Bracken's quarters.

The room was fairly large, with a large window overseeing the outdoor courtyard taking up most of the far wall. The room itself was well furnished, including a king-sized bed in one corner, which Bracken himself was currently sitting down upon.

"Kendra," said Bracken, as Kendra and Warren approached him. "Warren. Weren't you at the fair today? What brings you here?"

"It's Seth and Ingrid," said Kendra, as she and Warren both sat down in plush armchairs that were close to the bed, facing Bracken.

"What about Seth and Ingrid?" asked Bracken, displaying a worried look on his face.

Kendra and Warren went on to tell Bracken about how Seth and Ingrid went missing at the fair, and how they were unable to locate them, even by using the Oculus.

"So you see, Bracken," continued Kendra, "the only plausible place that Seth and Ingrid might even be, would be the Demon Domain."

"I understand," said Bracken. "You bring up a good point, although there's no concrete proof that Murdred is actually behind this."

"We know. But we really need to travel to the Demon Domain and see for ourselves if Seth and Ingrid are even there. If they're not, I don't know where they could even be."

"Which is why we need your help in getting to the Demon Domain," noted Warren.

Bracken nodded. "I'd still prefer to not travel to the Demon Domain unless its absolutely necessary."

"Please, Bracken," said Kendra. "Going back to the Demon Domain is something none of us want to do. Even if we can't find Seth and Ingrid, it would at least put my fears to rest."

Bracken took in a deep breath. "Very well. I will travel with you into the Demon Domain. However, if we are unable to find any leads as to Seth and Ingrid's whereabouts, or the trip takes its toll on us, we leave. This is a very dangerous mission we will be embarking upon."

"Absolutely," said Kendra. "We'll head straight for Murdred's castle and try to locate Seth and Ingrid. "I just... don't know... if we'll even succeed."

Bracken then got up from his bed and patted Kendra on her shoulder. "I can't promise you success. But I _can_ promise you that we'll try our very best. However, I don't want to drag other fairy angels into this, due to the risk. But let's do this. Let's set off for the Demon Domain."

"Thank you so much," said Kendra, as Warren brought out the Translocator and twisted it into position. Once Kendra and Bracken placed their hands upon it, Warren twisted it again. Suddenly, all three of them had arrived outside of the dragons' lair at Fablehaven.

"There you are," said Raxtus, as he walked out of the cave, followed by Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall.

"The others told us everything," said Geminus. "Poor Ingrid. Poor Seth."

"I hope we can manage without Bright and Clover," said Skyfrost. "The Demon Domain is harsh."

"We can always come back if it feels like we've made progress, but could use reinforcements," said Bracken.

Warren nodded. "Absolutely. Kendra, let's go back inside to get our stuff. Once we're ready, we can venture into the Demon Domain."


	5. Extortion

**Chapter 5: Extortion**

Seth and Ingrid gazed down the tunneling slope that lay before them. No less than twenty feet beneath where they were standing was the surface of a pool of lava, effectively blocking their only means of escape from the castle. Many hours had passed since entering the room, and they had contemplated as to where they should go from this point.

"We can't hide in here forever, Seth," said Ingrid.

"I just don't get it," said Seth. "What's all of this lava doing here now? It wasn't here when we last came through this place."

"That was over two months ago! It must've seeped into the tunnel somehow and flooded it."

"But why now? I thought this tunnel had been around for years."

"I'm scared, Seth," said Ingrid, grasping his arm in her hands. "What if we never get out of this place? No one knows we're here, and we have no way of getting back home!"

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. It's because of me that you got dragged into this place as well."

"It's not your fault. It was just bad luck."

"Yeah, but now you're trapped here, too!" said Seth.

"We may be trapped, but at least we're lost _together._ "

Seth turned towards Ingrid and hugged her. "Ingrid, you're always so good to me. You never give me a hard time."

Ingrid smiled, then backed away from Seth. "Still, we'd better get out of here, though. Because if Murdred doesn't manage to find and give us a hard time, I _will_!"

"If you have any other ideas to get us out of here, I'm open to suggestions."

Ingrid winced. "This passageway is the only alternate way into the castle that we know about. We may just have to take a chance up at the front door. Maybe we can find something to douse the fire with once it burns through the door."

Seth nodded. "Might as well try it. Come on!"

Seth and Ingrid made their way back through the tunnel, pushing against the heavy wall at the end to open up the secret passage, which they went through.

"I'm glad we were able to get that open again," said Ingrid, as she and Seth pushed the stone back towards the wall. "Part of me was afraid that it wouldn't move, and we'd be trapped in the passage with the lava."

"We'd be stuck between a rock and a hot place. Not sure if that would be better than dealing with Murdred, though."

"Anything's better than dealing with Murdred,"

Seth and Ingrid made their way back through the tunnels, before they finally came across the stairwell leading back up to the main floor of the castle. They proceeded to climb up the expansive flight of spiraling stairs, until the top ultimately came into sight.

Once they stepped out of the stairwell and emerged in the hallway, Seth and Ingrid both found themselves floating up into the air uncontrollably.

"What's going on?" shrieked Ingrid.

The door that was across from the stairwell opened up, and Murdred walked out into the hall, followed by Helwic and the adlets.

"No!" blurted Seth, flailing his arms and legs in an attempt to escape from being levitated, but failing miserably.

"Did you really think you could escape from here so easily?" asked Murdred.

"How did you find us?" gasped Ingrid.

"I was able to detect Seth while he was running around at that festival in the mortal world. Did you really think I'd have any greater difficulty sensing him within my own castle? I only let you get away like that just to see how far you'd make it. You sure took your sweet time getting back here."

Seth whipped the Pyruby out of his pocket. However, Helwic noticed what Seth was up to and proceeded to point her finger at him, causing the relic to fly out of his hand. Seth watched helplessly as the Pyruby hovered over towards Murdred, who accepted it in the palm of his scaly claw.

Murdred laughed wickedly. "At last! The Pyruby is _mine_!"

"What do you even want with it?" asked Ingrid.

"SILENCE!" blared Murdred. "Prepare to die, you insufferable pest!"

"Can we eat her?" asked Xillch, who had drool dangling from his upper teeth. "Please?"

"Her demise shall be _my_ pleasure! However, you mongrels are welcome to feast on the girl's remains."

"NO!" screamed Ingrid, as she shook her head frantically.

"You nearly destroyed me!" exclaimed Murdred. "Now you will finally pay for your actions."

"If you kill her, I'll never help you!" snapped Seth. "Whatever it is you want with me, I'd rather die!"

Murdred crossed his arms, then glared over towards Seth. "You'd _really_ do that?"

"I know you want me for something. You refrain from harming Ingrid, and I'll consider going along with whatever it is you've got planned. Even if I don't like it."

"Seth!" cried Ingrid.

"Very well," said Murdred. "In return for obeying my orders, I will not harm Ingrid."

" **Nobody** is to harm Ingrid," said Seth. "Not you. Not Helwic. Not the adlets. Not some other creature. Nobody. And I don't want her being turned to stone, or transfigured, or any other stupid loopholes! She is to be left alone!"

"My, somebody is certainly demanding. Helwic, release Seth and Ingrid from your grasp."

"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Helwic. She proceeded to snap her fingers, causing Seth and Ingrid to land feet first onto the floor.

"Now you listen to me, Seth. If you fail to uphold your end of our deal, I will dispose of Ingrid on sight."

Seth glanced over at Ingrid, who was panting heavily. Her eyes were very close to bulging out of their sockets. She was clearly terrified.

"What do you want?" asked Seth.

"Seth, I greatly appreciate you bringing me the Pyruby," said Murdred, fondling the red relic that he was holding in his hand. "However, I will be requiring the other relics as well."

"Look, you just _took_ the Pyruby from me, you realize."

"I want the whole set. I know for a fact that your other friends possess the the Emerock and the Sapphazure. I want them for myself. I didn't realize you had the Pyruby until now, but it saves me the trouble of finding it. Now I just need the others."

"So what's stopping you?" asked Seth.

"I have been unable to breach the boundaries of Fablehaven, even with my eye. Additionally, I cannot directly detect other members of your family, even outside of Fablehaven, for they are not beings of darkness. It was not until you were running around at that festival today that I was able to sense you. Not wanting to cause a scene with a large crowd, I waited until you were relatively alone before sending the adlets to retrieve you."

"You... watched me go to the bathroom?"

"Out of necessity. Knowing that you were virtually unprotected by that point, the adlets passed into the mortal world to retrieve you. Due to your ties to the other relics, I want for you to return to the mortal world and take them from your family, so that you may bring them to me."

Seth stopped to think. What good would come from bringing Murdred the other relics? He might save Ingrid from getting killed, sure. But what if Murdred was bluffing? He could very well never release Ingrid, and there was nothing that Seth could do to ensure that Murdred would uphold his end of the bargain.

"I'd never be able to bring you the other relics, even if I wanted to! Which I don't!"

"Then, I suppose I will have to kill Ingrid, it would seem."

"Seth!" blurted Ingrid, as Murdred grasped Ingrid's arm with his claw.

"Enough!" snapped Seth. "Look. Between Kendra, Warren and myself, we only have the Emerock, Sapphazure and Pyruby. We don't have any leads on the Necromaster, or even the Diavolt! You can threaten me all you want, but there's nothing I can do about the missing relics."

"I might as well be truthful with you," said Murdred, releasing Ingrid from his grasp. "Helwic, show Seth what I acquired not too long ago."

Helwic nodded, and proceeded to reach into her pocket. She pulled out an object no bigger than her hand. It appeared to be a black gem embedded in a golden casing, similar to the relics. Unlike the relics, this object was completely round, as opposed to being triangular.

"Is that..." asked Ingrid.

"The Necromaster?" asked Murdred. "Yes it is."

"You... found it?" asked Seth, who couldn't be sure if Murdred was either being truthful or merely bluffing. "No..."

"So you actually have it," said Ingrid. "And you _still_ want the other relics?"

"Wait a moment," said Seth. "Something about this feels all wrong. If that's really the Necromaster, why haven't you used it already?"

"I'd have set out with the Necromaster the moment I obtained it," replied Murdred. "But it doesn't actually work. At least, not at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"The Necromaster is currently non-operational. It hasn't worked for the entire duration that it has been in my possession. I didn't understand it at first. However, upon closer examination, the Necromaster functions differently from the other relics. Helwic, give me the Necromaster."

"Of course," said Helwic, as she presented the Necromaster to Murdred, who accepted it with his claw.

Murdred held up the Pyruby which he had been holding in his right claw, and the Necromaster in his left. Now that the two instruments were side by side, the difference in their shapes were more apparent. Murdred then pressed the rounded base of the Pyruby against the Necromaster, and the two relics magically attached themselves to each other, in a way that reminded Seth of the instruments of eternal power.

"On its own, the Necromaster is useless," said Murdred. "However, we've theorized that it actually requires the other four relics in order to function."

"Look, we told you that we don't know where the Diavolt even is," said Ingrid. "Even if we were to give you the Sapphazure and Emerock, you'd still be missing one relic."

"I'm not too concerned about that. Besides, aren't you wondering how I managed to so much as locate the Necromaster?"

"Is this a trick question?" asked Seth.

"I'll tell you. The Singing Sisters disclosed that information to me."

"The Singing Sisters?"

"Absolutely. As it stood, I seemingly had no chance of locating any of the other relics on my own. Concluding that my answer wouldn't be found in the Demon Domain, I sent Helwic and the adlets to search the mortal world for any leads. They learned about the Singing Sisters, who could allegedly delve up any information, so I paid them a visit."

"And you asked them for the location of the Necromaster, yes?"

"Absolutely. In exchange for a favor at a later date. But so what? As god of the Demon Domain, I can have whatever I want."

"I don't get why the Signing Sisters would help you," said Seth, recalling that it was the Singing Sisters themselves who sent him after Murdred in the first place. "You're not exactly a good being."

"The Sisters are of a neutral allegiance. They may see me as a threat, but they also realize that I can provide them with nearly anything. So we came to an agreement."

Seth nodded. "I get it. So why did you drag me into all of this?"

"Because the Singing Sisters are being very, _very_ difficult," replied Murdred. "Yes, they provided me with accurate information about the Necromaster. However, after retrieving the Necromaster and discovering that it requires the other four relics in order to function, I returned to the Singing Sisters, hoping that they would tell me about the other instruments."

"And?" asked Ingrid.

"They _refused_ to help me. The Sisters' argument was that upon providing someone with information, they can then decide on how long that individual must wait before fulfilling another request. They told me I had to wait _ten billion years_ before I could ask to speak to them again. They also demanded that I return to them within a year to fulfill my end of the bargain, or else they would never help me again."

"So, they're basically unwilling to help you any further?" asked Seth.

"Regrettably. I contemplated killing them, but doing so could effectively destroy my only chance at retrieving the missing instruments. I even ordered Helwic and the adlets to try asking the sisters for themselves. But that didn't work. The Sisters could sense their loyalty to me, and refused to help them, knowing that I would be the primary benefactor in this scenario."

"What do you want from Seth out of all this?" asked Ingrid.

Murdred flashed a rare smile, as he glared down at Ingrid and Seth, his shark-like teeth filling his mouth. "Seth, I want for you to ask the Singing Sisters for information as to the location of the Diavolt."

A million thoughts crossed Seth's mind as he listened to Murdred make his proposal. He was clearly asking for a _lot_. It was the Singing Sisters who led him to the Demon Domain and its god in the first place. What would the Singing Sisters want from him in exchange for information on the Diavolt? What if they refused to help Seth? What would they do? What would Murdred do? Seth felt as though he had been crushed by a ton of bricks with Murdred's demand, and he was clearly dumbstruck by all the tension it was putting on him.

"You're asking a lot from me," said Seth.

"Well, if you're not in the mood to help me, there's always her," said Murdred, pointing at Ingrid. "Unless you comply, her day of reckoning is here!"

Seth watched as Ingrid froze up on the spot.

"Okay," said Seth. "Say I get information on the Diavolt from the Singing Sisters, and I give it to you. What's in it for me?"

"You will both be free to go back to the mortal world."

And the other instruments?" asked Ingrid. "You'll definitely want the Sapphazure and Emerock to complete your collection."

"Those instruments will be a matter of concern for another day," replied Murdred.

"What about the Pyruby?" asked Seth.

Murdred shook his head. "Why would I ever return what I so desperately need?"

"Wait a minute," said Ingrid. "What if the Singing Sisters refuse to help Seth for some reason? If they don't tell Seth, then he won't be able to provide _you_ with information about the Diavolt."

"Then I'll find someone else to ask the Sisters in his stead. _You_ look like a reasonable candidate. Perhaps I'll keep you alive for the moment. However, if getting the information out of the Singing Sisters seems to be impossible, then I may have to abort the who mission."

"And what about us?" asked Seth. "If asking the Singing Sisters for help doesn't work out at all."

"Ingrid will die," replied Murdred. "If she is unable to provide me with compensation for my defeat at Fablehaven, I will personally destroy her. Xipp, Xeero and Xillch will feast on her remains."

"No!" screamed Ingrid. "That's not fair!"

"And me?" asked Seth.

Murdred clenched his claws together. "There's no guarantee that the Singing Sisters will cooperate. Therefore, I have a backup plan in store, in case things don't work out."

"You want to take advantage of my shadow charmer power, I know. But I'd never side myself with you. So you can forget it! And you can't force me! You forced Naomi, and look where that went."

"I was hoping we could come to some sort of agreement, actually."

"Working with you goes against everything I stand for. Shadow charmer or not."

"Seth," said Murdred. "I don't know why you've always been so opposed to my ideals. Look, it's painfully obvious that we got off on the wrong foot, but why not let bygones be bygones? If you side with me, you'll find yourself in a position of great power and prestige."

"You disgust me, Murdred. You and your _ethics!_ "

"You are the one who is in denial, Seth Sorenson. You may have been born an ordinary human, but you are a shadow charmer now! Becoming a shadow charmer isn't something that just _happens_! You became a shadow charmer because _you_ went out of your way to ally yourself with demons."

"Look, I wasn't exactly _aiming_ to become a shadow charmer! It only happened because of a lot of, well... convoluted circumstances."

"I don't need your excuses," said Murdred. "The point is, you're a shadow charmer now. Your body radiates darkness. Not much now, because you're young and fresh. But it's only going to get stronger and stronger as you mature. The people you know and love will no longer be able to be around you, because your darkness will drive them away like poison. You might as well side with me, where you truly belong."

Seth immediately thought of the Sphinx. He'd been alive for hundreds of years, and _he_ certainly didn't seem to generate darkness. Of course, it had been none other than the Sphinx himself who explained that every shadow charmer was different, and so it was entirely possible that Seth's inner darkness would only grow stronger. But what if Murdred was lying? Seth didn't know what to believe.

"So what'll it be?" asked Murdred. "You can either agree to ask the Singing Sisters for information about the Diavolt. Or you can swear your loyalty to me. What will it be?"

"Fine then," said Seth. "All I want is to leave this place at once. With Ingrid. I will ask the Singing Sisters for information about the Diavolt. But I'll only share this information if you let both of us return to the mortal world. And I don't trust you with that."

"I would be more than satisfied with a lead to the Diavolt. Besides, as long as you Knights of the Dawn have already located the other relics, I'm certain that I'll come across them before long. Also, the satisfaction of killing Ingrid would only be a momentary pleasure at best."

Ingrid proceeded to hold onto Seth's hand tightly. "I'm scared, Seth," she whispered.

"So am I," Seth whispered back. "But I don't see what other choice we have."


	6. Desperation

**Chapter 6: Desperation**

Standing in the yard at Fablehaven, Kendra gazed at everybody who was surrounding her. The group consisted of Warren, Bracken, Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall. Kendra could from the looks on their faces that they were all just as worried of heading into the Demon Domain as she was.

"Well," said Bracken, who was speaking in a somewhat worried voice, "if everybody's ready, let's do this."

The rest of the group nodded. In response, Bracken held out his hands. Glowing white energy shot out from his palms, creating a glowing swirl in front of him. Suddenly, the swirl grew larger, until it had become a portal wide enough for even the dragons to pass through.

"This is it," said Kendra. "If Seth and Ingrid are in here, I hope we find them."

"I'd feel better if they _weren't_ in here," chimed in Warren.

Bracken proceeded to be the first one to step through the portal. Clenching her teeth together, Kendra followed the unicorn's lead.

Coming out on the other side of the portal, Kendra met up with Bracken somewhere in the Demon Domain. Even though she was unfamiliar with her current surroundings, the sight brought back nothing but bad memories for Kendra.

The sky was emitting a vibrant blood red glow, or at least the areas of it that weren't obscured by thick clouds of grey smoke. Looking around, mountains surrounded Kendra in every direction, all of which appeared to be formed out of the same type of rocky, taupe ground she was currently standing on. In the distance, Kendra could even see a river filled with lava.

"Bracken," said Kendra, "this place is just as dreary and terrifying as I remember it."

As Kendra spoke, Warren and the dragons all stepped out of the portal, arriving in the Demon Domain. Once they were all accounted for, Bracken turned back and sealed the portal.

"So, where do we go from here?" asked Firesquall.

"I don't know," replied Bracken. "There's no map to this place. Our only real option at this point would be to fly around and hope that we are somehow able to locate Murdred's castle. It's the only feasible place where Seth and Ingrid, assuming they're even in the Demon Domain, would actually be."

"That doesn't sound so bad," said Skyfrost. "You can just use your power to home in on the castle, like you did the last time we were here."

Bracken winced. "It's better to not resort to that if I don't have to. I need to conserve my strength, so that later, I'll be able to open up a portal back home."

"Between Bracken, Raxtus and myself, we only have so much energy between the three of us," said Geminus. "As long as we're here, we need to refrain from using our power unless it's absolutely necessary."

"This seems pretty necessary," said Skyfrost.

"Having the strength to get out of here is even more necessary," said Bracken. "As a unicorn, just being here is a drain on me. I'm going to go into hiding for the time being. But don't worry, I'll be on full alert the whole time. I'm hoping for the rest of you to do your best."

At that moment, Bracken suddenly vanished, leaving behind a trail of white sparkles which quickly faded away.

"What's he doing that for?" asked Firesquall. "We need his help to locate the castle!"

"Can you do it, Mom or Dad?" asked Skyfrost.

Raxtus and Geminus looked at each other for a moment, then shook their heads. "Bracken's got a point," said Raxtus. "As fairy creatures, we too need to refrain from exhausting our power.

"Fine," moaned Firesquall. "Come on, Warren. Let's get moving."

Warren then went ahead and climbed up onto Firesquall's backside. Likewise, Kendra climbed up on top of Raxtus.

"I wish Seth were here," said Skyfrost, who was fixated at Warren riding upon Firesquall. "I mean, I know that him and Ingrid having gone missing are the whole reason we're even here . But still..."

"We're just going to have to make due," said Warren. "Things haven't been the same since Bright and Clover left to work in new fairy colonies, but we've still gotten by."

"There hasn't been a real crisis since they left either," said Firesquall.

"No point in fretting about things now," said Raxtus. "Come on, let's get moving."

Raxtus then leaped into the air and proceeded to fly upwards, until he had reached a good two-hundred feet or so above ground. Likewise, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all followed his lead.

"Guess we should just fly around and see what we can find," said Skyfrost.

"I want all of us to stay together," said Warren. "So stick with the group."

"But Firesquall and I can cover more ground on our own."

"I know. But Raxtus and Geminus need you two, just as much as you need them."

"Oh, all right," moaned Skyfrost.

"Well then," said Firesquall, "which way should go?"

"I honestly don't know," said Warren, as he shook his head.

"What about those mountains, over there?" asked Kendra, as she pointed off towards a mountain range in the distance.

"Seems like as good a place to start as any," said Raxtus. With that said, he proceeded to fly in the direction of the mountains that Kendra had pointed at, while the other dragons flew alongside him.

As the dragons flew towards the mountains, Kendra gazed down at the ground far beneath her vantage point atop Raxtus. She was able to make out numerous hills, cliffs, and even a few bodies of lava. Unsurprisingly, she was unable to locate Murdred's towering castle, no matter which direction she looked in.

Before long, the group had neared the top of one of the mountains that they were heading towards. With Warren still on his back, Firesquall soared over towards a large ledge at the summit of the mountain, where he perched himself. The other dragons followed Firesquall's lead, and came in for a landing as well.

"What're we stopping here for?" asked Kendra.

"Different point of view," said Warren, as he gazed off in another direction. "It's easier to take in our surroundings while we're not moving."

Kendra stared off into the distance while still seated atop of Raxtus. Even from this new perspective, she was unsuccessful in locating Murdred's castle, and could sense that the rest of her allies were having no better luck than she was.

"What was that?" exclaimed Geminus, breaking up the momentary silence.

"What was what?" asked Raxtus.

"I just felt something brush against my side," said Geminus, looking over towards the edge of the ledge. "Hold on, let me get a closer look."

Geminus then got down on all fours and peered down the side of the ledge. Suddenly, the fairy dragon bounced back towards the group, as though something had just startled her, and let out a loud gasp.

"Geminus, are you okay?" asked Kendra.

"Bugs!" cried Geminus, "Big, nasty, ugly bugs!"

"Bugs?" asked Warren.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Geminus, as she flew up from the ledge. "I think one tried to bite me!"

"Let's check this out," said Warren, as Firesquall, Raxtus and Skyfrost all followed Geminus over to where they could see the ledge from their new perspective.

Surely enough, dozens of massive, brown, bug-like creatures, each one roughly six-feet long, were crawling around on the side of the cliff near where Geminus had been standing. Although Kendra was by no means an expert when it came to identifying bugs, she figured that they best resembled a cross between a cockroach and a bedbug.

"Gross," Kendra. "What are those things, anyway?"

"I don't know," said Warren. "And I really don't want to find out."

"Who cares?" asked Skyfrost. "They can't reach us now."

Without warning, the bugs began to fly off the face of the cliff, revealing wings that Kendra had failed to notice at first. Surely enough, the bugs were flying directly towards the group.

"They're coming right for us!" exclaimed Raxtus.

"Leave 'em to me!" blurted Firesquall, as he proceeded to exhale a wave of fire at the incoming bugs. However, they appeared to be completely unfazed by the fire, as they flew straight through the stream and swarmed the group.

"Get off of me!" snapped Raxtus, as one of the bugs landed directly upon his right wing. Unable to reach it with his claws, Raxtus tried to flap the bug off, but was unable to do so.

"I'll get it!" exclaimed Kendra. She quickly unsheathed Vasilis from her backside. Gripping onto Raxtus with her free hand, Kendra then leaned over and pierced the bug with her sword, effectively skewering it on Vasilis' blade.

"Eww," said Kendra as she dragged the rather heavy bug off of Raxtus' wing. Now dangling over midair, Kendra shook the bug off of Vasilis' blade, allowing it to plummet to the ground below. The bug left a trail of puss all over Vasilis' blade.

"There's too many of them!" blurted Warren, who was busy trying to deflect several bugs at once with his sword.

"They won't freeze up either!" snapped Skyfrost. "It's like extreme temperatures have no effect on these things!"

"OW!" cried Warren, as he skewered a bug on his sword. "That one bit me!"

"We can't out-fly them!" cried Geminus.

"And we can't fend them all off! Man, that _really_ stung! What we need is a giant-sized can of Raid!"

"I'd settle for a giant fly swatter," said Kendra.

"Your swords seem to be working pretty well," said Skyfrost. "A lot better than our ice and fire."

"Hey, we got claws!" said Firesquall. "If swords work, why can't you and I just rip these guys apart?"

"Agreed! Let's do it!"

Skyfrost and Firesquall each flew towards a bug. They then opened their talons and proceeded to slash directly through the bugs' backsides, effectively killing them in midair.

"Not bad!" exclaimed Raxtus, as he flew towards another bug, and proceeded to slash at it with his own claws. However, as Raxtus was unable to fly as fast and precisely as the wyverns, he missed his target.

"Keep it up!" said Geminus, as Skyfrost and Firesquall continued flying after more bugs, maiming them just as effectively as they did the first two. As the wyverns continued to defeat more and more bugs, Raxtus and Geminus did whatever they could to stay clear of the action.

Soon Skyfrost and Firesquall seemed to be killing off bugs every few seconds, until almost none were left.

Suddenly, several long, fuzzy poles planted themselves around Kendra's head, taking her by surprise and causing her to let out a shriek. From what she could tell, the bug had landed directly on top of her.

"Kendra!" exclaimed Warren.

Kendra tried to free herself from the bug's grasp, but its legs were preventing her from moving her arms. "I can't move! Help!"

"Leave her alone, you stupid bug!" snapped Firesquall, as he and Skyfrost soared over towards Kendra and Raxtus.

"Easy, boys," said Geminus.

"We know, we know," said Skyfrost, as he and Firesquall flew directly up to Kendra, so that they were each floating on one side of her.

Slowly but surely, the wyverns extended their talons forward, and each grabbed the bug by one end. They then gently pried the bug off of Kendra's head, keeping it in place between their talons.

"Let's play tug o' war!" said Firesquall.

Skyfrost nodded, and the two wyverns proceeded to fly away from each other. Almost instantly, the bug was torn in half, causing its puss to spill out. They then dropped their respective halves of the bug.

"That was fun!" said Skyfrost.

"That was painful," said Warren. "Look at my arm!"

No longer distracted by the wyverns, everybody looked over at Warren. The bug that attacked him had chewed though much of his right sleeve, leaving a huge, red mark all along his arm.

"You got a potion for that?" asked Raxtus.

"It might be poisonous," said Warren. "A potion wouldn't be enough. And I don't have an antidote for... whatever those things were."

"Let me help you," said Geminus, as she exhaled a pink mist onto Warren's arm. Within seconds, the swelling seemingly disappeared.

"Thank you, Geminus," said Warren. "I just hope this doesn't end up costing us later on. Here, Skyfrost, let me wash that crud off your talons."

Warren then pulled aimed the Sapphazure at Skyfrost's talons and soaked them with water, effectively washing away the bug gunk that had accumulated on them.

"Here, Kendra," said Warren, tossing the Sapphazure towards her. "Do Firesquall for me, would you?"

"At least you're okay," said Raxtus, as Kendra aimed the Sapphazure at Firesquall's talons. "But have we even made any progress dealing with those bugs?"

"Not from what I can tell," replied Geminus, as Kendra returned the Sapphazure to Warren. "Without Seth, the only way for us to navigate this place is by exhausting our own precious light energy."

"Let's just continue down this way," said Raxtus, as he began to fly off in the direction they had originally been flying in, back towards the mountain. The other dragons followed his lead.

The dragons continued to soar through the sky for several more minutes. Kendra then looked down at the land below, and saw that they were now flying over a lake of bubbling lava.

"It's times like these I'm glad I can fly," said Geminus.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to take a plunge into _that_ ," noted Skyfrost.

Just then, what appeared to be a geyser suddenly rose out of the lava. As it appeared, Kendra felt as though her body was experiencing a rather shocking chill.

"Warren," said Kendra, "how high can those geysers get?"

"I dunno. Not too high, I hope."

Still keeping her eye on the geyser, Kendra watched as the entire thing suddenly rose out of the lava lake. From what she could tell, the geyser seemed to be flying up towards the group.

"That geyser!" blurted Kendra. "It's following us!"

"That's no geyser!" blurted Firesquall.

"That's some sort of... fire serpent!" exclaimed Skyfrost.

Surely enough, the figure appeared to be a large serpent, the skin of which appeared to be made entirely of fire and magma.

"It's gaining on us!" cried Geminus. "And it's flying fast!"

The dragons all increased their speed, but the serpent was still managing to catch up towards them. As it neared them, Kendra could see just how large it was. Rivaling Mariana at her proper size, it appeared to be as long as several buses.

"We'll never escape it!" muttered Raxtus.

"Leave this thing to us," said Warren, as he held out the Sapphazure. "Ready, Skyfrost? Blast it!"

Warren proceeded to blast the serpent with water from the Sapphazure, while Skyfrost assaulted it with his ice breath. The serpent let out a powerful roar, as it seemingly shrugged off the water and ice attacks that were being directed at it.

"It's no use," said Warren. "It's too strong!"

"That thing's emitting darkness!" gasped Raxtus. "It's like that demon that was in the Pyruby!"

The dragons all swerved around in the air, attempting to evade the serpent. However, while Skyfrost and Firesquall were fast enough to keep their distance, Raxtus and Geminus were struggling to get away.

"We've got to get out of here!" cried Kendra.

"We can't!" blurted Raxtus. "It's too fast for us!"

At that moment, the serpent zeroed in on Raxtus. Kendra could now feel the intensity of the monster's high body temperature. Before the serpent could make contact, Kendra watched as the monster was suddenly being pushed back.

Surely enough, it was Geminus, exhaling a stream of her white, fiery light energy at the serpent. Raxtus suddenly turned around and also unleashed his own stream of light energy at the serpent as well. The serpent roared in agony as it tried to shrug off the forces of light that being thrust upon it.

"Keep it up!" said Firesquall.

"It's working," said Warren, "But I don't know how long they can hold that thing off!"

Suddenly, Bracken appeared, floating in the air and in his unicorn form to boot. Kendra watched as Bracken's horn began to glow, and a beam of rainbow-colored energy spiralled out of it and flew into the serpent.

The serpent let out an even louder snarl, until it suddenly lost its ability to keep afloat in the air and dropped back down towards the lake of lava below. At this point, Bracken and the dragons ceased their attacks, and Kendra watched as the serpent splashed down into the lava.

"Awesome!" said Firesquall. "You did it!"

"That wasn't good," said Bracken.

"But, you saved us," noted Kendra.

"We had to," said Raxtus. "And by doing so, we used up a considerable amount of light energy."

"What does that mean?" asked Skyfrost.

"It means... that we've got to get out of this place," replied Bracken.

"Go home?" asked Firesquall. "But we came all this way! We fought all those monsters! If we go back, it'll all have been for nothing!"

"I'm very sorry," said Geminus, "but that serpent took a lot out of us. If we stay here much longer, the consequences could be severe."

"But... what about Seth?" asked Skyfrost. "And Ingrid?"

"They do need our help," said Warren. "Assuming they're actually here. Either way, we won't be able to help them if the fairy half of our team cannot sustain themselves. We can't afford to have something like Bracken turning into a nightmare ever happening."

"I understand," said Kendra. "Guess we'll have to go back and try again later."

Bracken then conjured up a portal in midair by utilizing magical energy from his horn. "I'm very sorry about this."

"I understand," said Kendra, as Raxtus proceeded to fly into the portal, taking her with with him.


	7. A Second Request

**Chapter 7: A Second Request**

Surrounded by Murdred, Helwic and the adlets, Seth and and Ingrid found themselves in no position to escape. Even if they were to run away down the hallway, there was seemingly no way for them to actually avoid getting caught. And even if the two of them were to somehow manage to get away, Murdred easily possessed the power to find them again.

"Well then," said Murdred, "I say it's time we paid the Singing Sisters a little visit."

"Okay," said Seth. "Is Helwic going to open a portal to their lair?"

Murdred shook his head and let out a guffaw. "Hardly. The Singing Sisters failed to comply with my demand for a second request. So I uprooted them from their home."

"Uprooted them?" asked Ingrid.

"Correct. They are now prisoners in my castle. If they're going to refuse to cooperate with me, then they can spend an eternity rotting in my dungeon, until they change their minds."

"You just up and abducted the Singing Sisters?" asked Seth, trying to picture how exactly the trio could've been removed from their lair.

"You have any doubts?" asked Murdred. "They're my prisoners. Perhaps you didn't run into them while you were snooping around downstairs. But don't worry, you'll get to meet them very soon. Follow me."

Murdred then led Seth and Ingrid back down the stairs from which they had previously emerged, while Helwic and the adlets followed behind them.

Soon they reached the bottom of the stairs, and Murdred led the group through several tunnels, the same ones which Seth and Ingrid had been traversing through on their own only several minutes ago.

After passing through several twists and turns, Murdred finally stopped once he reached the metal door. Behind said door was the same room where Stargleam, Windshear and numerous fairies had once been imprisoned, as well as Kendra.

"They're in here?" asked Ingrid.

"Why not?" asked Murdred. "As magical beings, the sisters need a room which can sustain them. And even though your entourage had the _nerve_ to release my former prisoners, I still managed to find another use for the oubliette."

Seth sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

"Now remember, Seth. We will enter together, and you will do exactly what I say. You four, keep an eye on Ingrid."

"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Helwic, as the adlets lined up next to her.

Seth looked at Ingrid. Judging from the look on her face, she was, unsurprisingly, extremely scared.

Murdred then turned to face the door. "Open!"

The door automatically slid open. Seth stared into the dungeon and surely enough, he could see the Singing Sisters positioned in the center of the metal room. He walked into the room with Murdred directly behind him, and the door shut itself.

Just by looking at the Singing Sisters, Seth could tell that something was horribly wrong with them. All three of their faces were dreary, and the appeared to be malnourished, as their body was sagging around in a puddle on the floor.

"Seth Sorenson," said Berna, speaking in a feint voice. "Whatever brings you here?"

"Oh my god," said Seth. "What happened to you three?"

"Murdred happened to us," replied Orna.

"SILENCE" snapped Murdred, in a voice that reverberated heavily throughout the metal walls, floor and ceiling of the room. "Seth, ask Singing Sisters as to the whereabouts to the Diavolt!"

"Not so fast," said Wilna. "We would rather die than reveal the location to you."

Murdred snarled. "I'm not the one asking you! Seth will!"

"If this is between Seth and us, then leave us be, Murdred," said Orna.

"Are you telling _me_ what to _do_?"

"We refuse to reveal the Diavolt's location to you and your followers," said Wilna. "We're willing to negotiate with Seth, but not with you."

Murdred growled. "FINE! I will leave. But hear me, Seth Sorenson. You are to share this information with me, or else! OPEN!"

The door to the dungeon swung open again. Murdred walked out, and it closed behind him.

"I'm so sorry about this," said Seth. "I accidentally mentioned you to Murdred when we first met. I didn't think it would lead to this..."

"It was us who led you to Murdred in the first place," said Berna. "We are partially to blame."

"This is awful. How do we get out of this place?"

"It would seem that the only way out would be to negotiate with Murdred," replied Orna.

"Why haven't you done that?"

"Because all that us sisters can do is provide information. Information that, should we reveal too much to Murdred, would enable him to conquer the mortal realm."

"Then what am I even supposed to do?" asked Seth. "I know about his past. But, why is Murdred so mean, anyway?"

"Murdred is very superstitious," replied Wilna. "And his beliefs are flawed. He sees all who do not share his views as a threat."

"But why?" asked Seth.

"Murdred was born under a bad sign," replied Berna. "It's bizarre, but it's the only theory that makes sense."

"What do you mean, bad sign?"

"Damien of the Dukes family was born on January 13, 1313," stated Orna.

"The thirteenth day of the year," added Berna.

"At thirteen minutes past the thirteenth hour," noted Wilna. "It was during a severe thunderstorm."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Look, thirteen is just a number. There's no scientific significance to it."

"People from Damien's time didn't see it that way," said Berna. "They saw him as a jinx. And he took it to heart. Combined with a natural criminal mind and a harsh childhood, these circumstances helped create the monster who became Murdred."

"There's just no reasoning with him," said Orna.

"What if I provided him with information on the Diavolt?" asked Seth.

"You mustn't!" exclaimed Wilna.

"Look, if I can get out of here, I promise that I'll try and rescue you three."

"Who's to say that Murdred will let you leave if you _do_ tell him where to find the Diavolt?" asked Orna.

"How will he even know if I'm telling the truth?" asked Seth. "I could easily lead him into a trap."

"We don't condone you taking that risk," said Berna. "If Murdred found you once, he can find you again."

"I've got to try something," said Seth. "Just tell me where to find the Diavolt. I'll make a deal with Murdred to send me back to Fablehaven before telling him. In exchange, we will make an effort to rescue you. On top of that, if I can get my friends together, we can not only recover the Diavolt, but we can steal the Necromaster and the Pyruby back from Murdred and defeat him. I hope."

The three heads all murmured something unintelligible amongst themselves.

"You do realize what this entails, don't you?" asked Orna.

"I must," said Seth.

"Very well," said Berna. "Normally, we would ask for you to cut yourself with a covenant knife. But these are dire circumstances, and you've committed your prior obligations to us, so we will forgo the regular vows this time."

The three sisters proceed to hum their familiar tune, as they raised their arms up over their heads. Seth watched as the maggot in the puddle beneath them wriggled violently as it had before, until it burst, revealing a purple substance in the puddle. The puddle began to glow for a moment, then faded.

After the humming ended, all three of the sisters' heads suddenly collapsed in unison.

"Oh no!" cried Seth.

"Seth..." said Wilna. "This... request took a lot out of us..."

"Are you three... even okay?"

"We are not mortal beings," said Berna. "But this favor has severely weakened us."

"I'm sorry," said Seth.

"These circumstances were not your fault," said Wilna, as she let out a cough. "What's done is done. There is no need to hide this information from you. Behold!"

All three of the sisters suddenly blinked in unison. When they opened their eyes, a piece of parchment paper magically appeared in midair, floating in front of Seth's face. As if by instinct, Seth grabbed it, causing whatever magic that was keeping afloat to suddenly vanish.

Seth fixated his view on the paper, and was just about to start reading the text that had been written on it.

"You needn't read it now," said Orna.

"But I need to know where the Diavolt is!"

"You will," said Wilna. "And Murdred won't. But you will need to share this information with your fellow knights if you wish to have any chance of recovering it. So work out your details with them."

"But what if Murdred doesn't let me get out of the Demon Domain under any circumstance?" asked Seth.

"Then we're afraid that your visit to us will have been in vain," said Berna. "As it stands now, only Helwic holds the power for you to leave this realm."

"I guess this is it, then," said Seth, as he slipped the parchment into his pocket. "I hope I can carry out my end of the bargain."

"As do we," said Orna. "As do we."

Seth then gave the sisters a goodbye wave, and walked back towards the door to the room. Not knowing what to do at this point, he banged against it with his fist. Seth then waited for a few seconds. Would Murdred even let him out? Or would he now become Murdred's latest prisoner?

Seth's heart skipped a beat as the door suddenly swung open, revealing that Murdred was standing on the other side.

"Seth!" exclaimed Ingrid, as Seth stepped out of the oubliette and into the hallway. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," said Seth, as Murdred slammed the door behind him. "What about you?"

"Enough!" snapped Murdred. "I care not for your sentimental feelings! Now tell me, did you manage to coax the Singing Sisters into diverging the whereabouts of the Diavolt to you?"

Seth paused for a moment. "Yes."

"Then where is it?"

Seth winced, thinking about what would happen if Murdred managed to obtain all of the relics. "I can't... tell you."

"That's a shame," said Murdred, as he turned to face the adlets. "It would appear that Seth is unwilling to cooperate. I see no reason to keep Ingrid alive. You adlets may feast on her."

"No, don't!" cried Seth, as Xipp pounced himself upon Ingrid, knocking the girl to the floor of the tunnel. Xeero and Xillch crowded around where Xipp was standing, and prepared to raise their claws.

"STOP!" shrieked Ingrid.

"PLEASE STOP!" blurted Seth, as the adlets began to slash away at Ingrid. "PLEASE! I'LL TELL YOU! DON'T HURT HER!"

"STOP!" roared Murdred, prompting the adlets to all back away from Ingrid. Now that they were no longer standing between Seth and his sister, Seth could see that Ingrid's front side had been grazed multiple times by the adlets' claws, and blood was streaking everywhere. Ingrid was hyperventilating, her fallen body stuck in a cowering position.

"INGRID!" shouted Seth.

"She's still alive" said Murdred, as he stood in Seth's way. "But tell me where the Diavolt is right now, or the adlets will finish her."

"Okay," said Seth, as he wearily removed the parchment from within his pocket. "It's written down on this."

"Give me that," snapped Murdred, as he ripped the paper out of Seth's hand, then proceeded to read it aloud. "You are not permitted to read this?"

Murdred turned the paper around, then flipped it back to the other side. "Is this some kind of joke? Where are the directions?"

"They should be there!" muttered Seth. "But I didn't look at the paper yet for myself."

"I'm not seeing anything either," said Helwic, as she glanced at the paper.

"Me neither," said Xillch. "But I don't know how to read anyway."

"Either this is fake, or those sisters enchanted this paper somehow! Read what it says. Or it's chow time for those three."

Seth accepted the paper back from Murdred, and glanced at the text. It didn't say "You are not permitted to read this". It appeared to have actual directions written it.

"It says..." began Seth. He tried to continue by reading aloud what was written on the parchment, but no words came out of his mouth, even though he was moving his lips.

"Speak up!" hissed Murdred.

"I'm trying!" cried Seth. "It says..."

Seth desperately tried to quote what was on the paper, but was unable to produce any sound from his mouth.

"There really are directions!" cried Seth. "I'm trying to read them to you!"

"It must be those stupid sisters who did this!" huffed Murdred, as he turned to face the iron door. "But if you're lying about this... Wait here. Open!"

The door to the oubliette swung open, and Murdred marched inside. The door then closed itself.

"Ingrid," said Seth, as he walked up to his sister, who was still bleeding profusely. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could help you."

"I know," muttered Ingrid.

"What are you stalling for, Seth?" asked Xeero. "We're getting hungry!"

"You monsters!" snapped Seth, as he knelt down by Ingrid's side. She was a mess.

Seth wished that he could defeat his adversaries, but knew that he was no match for all three adlets and Helwic. He also knew that he couldn't run, as even if he didn't have to worry about Ingrid, they could easily catch him.

"Seth, you should know not to cross Lord Murdred," said Helwic. "See what happened to your little friend here? It's best you just cooperate with him. If you had done so in the first place, you could be ruling the mortal realm as Lord Murdred's right hand at this very moment. But instead, you picked the weaker side. You are such a naive fool."

"You're the ones who are mistaken," said Seth. "Your hierarchy is based entirely on corruption and malevolence. You never help anyone. You just exploit others and destroy what you don't like or even understand. Why do you have to be this way?"

"Your system is the one that's flawed," said Helwic. "Lord Murdred says that the human race has grown too soft over time. It's becoming less and less of a survival of the fittest. Instead, more and more people are choosing to accept and tolerate others, rather than fighting with them. It makes me sick. Thankfully, some parts of the world still have a long way to go, but it's changed considerably since the day I met Damien."

"I'll never understand you guys," said Seth. "And shadow charmer or not, I do not deserve to be associated with any of you."

"If you're not willing to change your mind, we may have to do it for you."

At that moment, the door the the oubliette swung open and Murdred stormed out. It then shut behind him.

"I don't believe it," hissed Murdred. "Those Singing Sisters really did enchant the parchment, just to prevent any of us from learning where the Diavolt actually is. Only Seth is able to interpret the directions. And he is truly unable to share them with us, it seems."

"I have an idea," said Helwic. She snapped her fingers, prompting a sheet of paper and a fountain pen to appear in her hands. "Seth, why don't you just write down the directions on this paper?"

Seth sighed. "Fine."

Seth accepted the pen and paper from Helwic. He then proceeded to copy the directions down. However, even though he pressed the tip of the pen down against the paper, no ink came out.

"Is this some joke?" asked Murdred. "WRITE IT DOWN!"

"I'm trying!" cried Seth, as he pressed against the tip of the pen with his fingertip, causing a bit of ink to flow out onto his finger. "The pen's got ink in it! But it won't let me write with it!"

"Must be a safeguard by the sisters," said Helwic.

Murdred scoffed.

"Look, I'm trying to share this information with you," said Seth. "Really! You can have it! All I want is for Ingrid and myself to get home!"

"I'm very tempted to do something to you," said Murdred. "But as it stands now, you're the only one of us here who is capable of reaching the Diavolt. And I know for a fact that your group, as much as I detest them, are capable of recovering these relics."

"What are you saying?"

"I will make you a deal, Seth. I will allow you to to return home. However, in exchange for your release, you and your fellow knights are to recover the Diavolt. After you obtain the Diavolt, you will return to the Demon Domain and present it to me. Fail to do so, and you _will_ suffer."

"But, what if I can't recover the Diavolt?" asked Seth. "What if the others don't agree with your terms?"

"That's not my problem. I am willing to give you one full week to recover the Diavolt. If you fail to bring it to me within that period, I will retaliate. I may not have the power to breach Fablehaven, but you can't stay on that preserve without ever leaving for the rest of your pathetic life now, can you?"

"All right," said Seth. "I'll do it. On two conditions."

"What are they?" asked Murdred nonchalantly.

"Give me back the Pyruby. "If nothing else, its power might help me in reaching the Diavolt."

"Very well," said Murdred, handing the relic back to Seth. "But when you bring me the Diavolt, you bring me back the Pyruby along with it. What's the other condition?"

"Ingrid. You let her come back with me."

"Fine," said Murdred. "As meddlesome as she's been in the past, I care not what happens with Ingrid at this point. Soon I will have three relics. And I'm sure I can extort the other two from your allies without much trouble. Very well. I will send you and Ingrid back to Fablehaven."

"You hear that, Ingrid?" asked Seth, as he patted his sister's shoulder. His eyes were drawn to the blood and claw marks that were all over her middle section. "We're going home. You're going to be okay."

Ingrid nodded in response.

"But remember, Seth," said Murdred, as his eyes started to glow. "This is your **last chance**."


	8. Obligations

**Chapter 8: Obligations**

With Kendra seated upon his backside, Raxtus came barrelling out of the portal and onto the lawn in the yard at Fablehaven. Doing what he could to stop his momentum, the fairy dragon skidded along the grass for several feet, raking his talons along the ground until he came to a full stop.

Soon the other dragons and Bracken had gathered alongside him, and Bracken used his power to seal the portal that was floating in the air behind him.

"At least we made it," said Kendra, as she climbed down off of Raxtus' back.

"That stupid thing was too powerful!" said Skyfrost. "My ice and Warren's water should've had some impact on it!"

"Are you three okay?" asked Kendra, as she turned to face Raxtus, Geminus and Bracken.

"I'm feeling down, but not out," said Bracken, as he transformed himself back into his human form.

"At least we're safe now," said Warren. "But that whole excursion... it just felt like a waste."

"Poor Ingrid and Seth," said Geminus. "I don't know what it was, but I got the feeling they really were in the Demon Domain. I can't prove it. But I just feel so certain."

"I think we all felt that way," said Kendra.

"We need to rest," said Raxtus. "We're going to be heading back to our cave. I'm sorry this trip didn't end well."

Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all jumped into the air and soared over in the direction of their cave.

"What about you, Bracken?" asked Kendra.

"Guess I'll just come inside with you guys," replied Bracken.

"It's getting late now," said Warren. "As long as we can't return to the Demon Domain for the time being, we might as well take a break."

Still worried about Seth and Ingrid, Kendra followed Warren and Bracken back into the house, where they were greeted by the rest of the family. The scent of parmigiana could be smelled wafting in from the kitchen, but it meant little to Kendra at the moment.

"You're back!" exclaimed Grandma. "Were you able to find Seth and Ingrid?"

"No," muttered Warren, as he shook his head.

"We tried," said Bracken sullenly. "But we just couldn't continue. We were overwhelmed."

"Scott," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Our children..."

Mr. Sorenson sighed, then patted his wife on the back. "The three of them look distraught. It's clear that they tried."

"Should we call the police? In the event that they're _not_ in the Demon Domain?"

"I don't mean to change the conversation, but dinner is ready," said Grandma.

"I am pretty hungry," said Kendra. "We'll tell you more about it when we sit down."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the front gate at Fablehaven, Seth emerged from a black portal. His arm still reaching back, he supported Ingrid as she stumbled to pass through the portal behind him. Once the two of them had fully emerged from the portal, it sealed itself, no doubt due to Helwic's influence from the other side.

Seth stared at Ingrid in distraught. Her torn shirt was soaking in blood, and Seth was able to make out the claw marks that the adlets had dug into her skin. Ingrid was a mess, barely able to stand on her own two feet.

"Ingrid," said Seth, "I'm so sorry. That should've been me who got attacked by the adlets. Not you."

"Help me," gasped Ingrid, as she struggled to keep her balance while clenching one of Seth's arms with both of her hands.

"I'm going to get help," said Seth, as he lowered Ingrid down into a sitting position on the side of the driveway leading up to the gate. He then pulled out his phone and immediately called home. He listened as the phone rang and Grandpa, who was in the middle of eating dinner, answered on the other end.

"Seth?" blurted Grandpa. "Is that you?"

"Yes!" cried Seth, relieved to hear his grandfather's voice again. "Ingrid and I are outside the front gate! She's badly wounded!"

"What? What do you mean? What happened to you two? Where have you been?"

"The Demon Domain! Look, please get us back to the house! It's an emergency! Ingrid's hurt! We'll tell you everything!"

"I understand," said Grandpa, as he held the phone away from his face. Everyone at the dinner table was staring at him in awe. "Seth and Ingrid are outside the front gate. They need to get in the house. I just hope it's really them."

"It's us!" shouted Seth, trying to make his voice heard through the phone. "Please believe me!"

"I hope so," said Grandpa. "Warren, can you please check out the gate and see what's going on?"

"Absolutely," said Warren, as he got up from his seat. "I'll get the Translocator right now."

"Warren's coming," said Grandpa into his phone. "Hang in there."

"Thank you," said Seth, as he hung up.

A moment later, Warren suddenly appeared next to the gate, holding the Translocator in his hands.

"Oh my god," gasped Warren, as he walked up to Seth and Ingrid. "Ingrid, what happened to you?"

"The adlets..." said Ingrid.

"They did this?" exclaimed Warren, as he knelt down next to Ingrid and scowled. "Those **monsters**! I'll make them pay for this!"

Warren sighed, then held out the Translocator. Seth and Ingrid each touched it, as Warren wound it up and transported the three of them away from the outside and into the living room.

"Ingrid!" cried Mrs. Sorenson, as the rest of the family was now able to see what had happened to her. Kendra was shocked.

"Here," said Kendra, as she held the Sands of Sanctity over Ingrid and poured its magical sand onto Ingrid's wounded body. Kendra watched as the wounds suddenly healed themselves up, although her blood and torn shirt still remained.

Ingrid smiled. "Thank you!" she said in a relieved voice.

"Hold it," said Bracken. "I need to make sure that you two are really you, and not impostors."

Bracken's hands started to glow, and he held them over Seth and Ingrid's heads. Seth experienced a tingly feeling for a moment, until the glowing faded.

"They seem to be themselves," said Bracken, as he pulled his hands back. "Here, Ingrid, let me clean you up."

Bracken snapped his fingers. In a flash of white light, the torn shirt that Ingrid had been wearing, along with all of the excess blood, was suddenly replaced with a clean, white shirt.

"Thank you, Bracken," said Ingrid, as she admired her new shirt. It was simple-looking, but also possessed an elegance of some sort.

"Are you two okay?" asked Mr. Sorenson. "You, Seth?"

"I'm all right," replied Seth.

"Please," said Grandpa. "You need to tell us everything. How did you wind up the Demon Domain? What went on while you were there?"

"Hold on, Stan," said Grandma. "The two of them must be starving by now. Please, let's at least all sit down at the table and have our dinner first."

Seth and Ingrid both washed up at the kitchen sink, then sat down with the rest of the family at the dining room table. Wanting to discuss what had recently transpired, everybody hastily ate their veal parmigiana. After the table was cleared, the group all made their way into the living room and sat down.

Seth and Ingrid started by telling the others about how the adlets had first appeared in the school washroom through a portal, and that they brought the two of them into the Demon Domain to see Murdred. They explained that not only did Murdred have possession of the Necromaster, but that the Demon God needed the power of the other relics to get it to work.

They then went on to talk about how they were unsuccessful in escaping from the castle, and how Seth was left with seemingly no choice but to comply with Murdred's demands and strike a deal with the currently imprisoned Singing Sisters. In the end, Seth spoke about how he managed to obtain information about the Diavolt's location, but was unable to share it with Murdred.

After Seth and Ingrid finished their story to the rest of the family, it was their turn to hear about what had happened with the others. They explained how they were unable to locate Seth and Ingrid, and how they conjectured that, since Kendra had been unable to find them using the Oculus, that there was a chance that the two of them were in the Demon Domain. They also told them about how they did in fact venture into the Demon Domain, but were unsuccessful in finding Seth and Ingrid.

"That is pretty crazy," said Seth, after hearing about the encounter with the lava serpent that forced the group into retreating back into the moral realm.

"That's nothing," said Kendra. "You're the one who just ran into _Murdred_."

"I guess it's hard to top that," said Seth.

"I must ask," said Bracken. "How was Murdred even able to find you? His evil eye was destroyed by my mother."

"They know where Fablehaven is," said Grandpa. "Even if they cannot bypass the barrier. They were able to ambush Seth because he was off the property."

"That's not why," stated Seth. "Murdred's evil eye is back!"

"What?" gasped Bracken. "But... how?"

"Something to do with dark crystals," said Ingrid. "They said something about how a cache of dark crystals had been discovered underneath the castle. Because of their power, Murdred was able to regrow his missing eye."

"A cache of dark crystals?" cried Bracken, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. "No."

"Dark crystals?" asked Mrs. Sorenson. "Forgive me for asking, but what exactly are they?"

"You recall how light crystals are capable of containing raw light energy? Well, dark crystals are their negative counterpart. Only thing is, light crystals are extremely rare. As are dark crystals. Or so we thought."

"This isn't good," said Kendra. "Ingrid was able to use that one light crystal to weaken Murdred. Now we find out he's got a whole supply of _dark_ ones? What are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know what Murdred intends to do with all those dark crystals," said Warren. "But he's gotta be planning something."

"He already got a hold of the Necromaster," said Ingrid. "And is seeking the other relics."

"And he wanted to win me over... again," added Seth.

"I don't like where this is going at all," said Grandpa. "And with his evil eye now restored, it won't be hard for Murdred to locate you again like he just did."

"You should be safe as long as you remain at Fablehaven," said Bracken.

"Remain at Fablehaven?" muttered Seth. "For how long? I don't want to be stuck here!"

"What else are we supposed to do?" asked Ingrid. "Even if we do retrieve the Diavolt for Murdred, and he accepts it, he'll still have the power to track you down."

Grandma crossed her arms. "I don't like this one bit. You can't seriously think that it's a good idea to just surrender the Diavolt to Murdred!"

"We don't even have the Diavolt!" said Ingrid. "Nor can we be certain that those directions we got are truthful."

"But I have to!" exclaimed Seth. "Otherwise, he'll come after me!"

"Time out!" shouted Grandpa, earning the looks of everybody in the room. "Clearly, we are in quite a predicament, are we not? Let's go over what we know, shall we?"

"Murdred is back," said Seth. "And he's lusting for power."

"He has the Necromaster," said Ingrid. "And he wants the other relics."

"He also has the Singing Sisters in his dungeon as prisoners," said Kendra.

"He has the ability to detect Seth, except when he's here at Fablehaven," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"He's giving Seth one week's time to retrieve the Diavolt," said Mr. Sorenson. "Or else..."

"I'm not sure," said Seth. "But I know that whatever it is, it's bad."

Grandpa held up his hands. "This whole situation seems to be spiraling out of control!"

"What are you proposing we do?" asked Grandma.

"I don't know. We just simply do not have the power to destroy Murdred and resolve all of the trouble he's been causing."

"This Diavolt situation doesn't seem to have an optimal solution," said Seth. "If we find it, Murdred will demand it _and_ the Pyruby. If not, he'll still come after it and force me into hiding."

"Is there no way to conceal Seth from Murdred?" asked Kendra. "I mean, if the fairies' magic can protect the entire preserve from outside forces, why can't we do the same for Seth?"

"Seth is a shadow charmer," said Bracken. "He's too... incompatible for this sort of thing. And even if he weren't, it would still be unheard of. Fablehaven is a location interwoven with magic. Seth is a living, breathing, thinking being. Any sort of magic we could use upon him, even if it were to work at first, would inevitably wear off."

"So we get some bodyguards to protect Seth," said Warren. "If those adlets come after him again, they'll be sorry."

"Why would Murdred stop with the adlets?" asked Bracken. "He has an entire empire of monsters at his disposal. What's to stop him from sending a whole platoon of them after Seth? Besides, people can't be watching him twenty-four seven, can they?"

Seth shook his head. "I'm scared. Murdred said he has a way of making me cooperate. And I get the feeling that it's something _other_ than blackmail or extortion. I don't feel safe anymore. Even here at Fablehaven, where Murdred can't get to me. I hope."

"Well, it probably wouldn't involve that elixir," said Grandpa. "You mentioned that Murdred stated that he was fed up with it, after what happened with Nemenemi."

"You don't suppose it'd have to do with those dark crystals?" asked Kendra. "If their power was enough to restore Murdred's evil eye, imagine what it they could do to someone like Seth."

Seth gasped. "I'd never give in to them!"

"That wasn't your attitude while you were under the influence of the elixir," said Grandma.

"Seth may have a point," said Mrs. Sorenson. "What if Fablehaven _isn't_ safe enough for him? What other refuge could there even be?"

"I don't know," replied Grandpa. "It'd have to be a sacred place, such as another preserve. And it would need to have the same extra protection that Fablehaven currently has. But what difference would it make? Seth might as well stay put if that's the case."

"He can't come to the Fairy Kingdom," said Bracken. "Even if he _weren't_ a shadow charmer. It would be too unbalanced and chaotic for a non-light being to reside there for an extended time. Not just on the fairies' behalf, but on Seth's as well. Nothing personal."

"I don't think I can win here," said Seth. "Whether we find the Diavolt or not. It seems like I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't."

"So what's the point of going through the trouble of finding the Diavolt?" asked Kendra. "All we'd be doing by finding it would be bringing Murdred one step closer to powering up the Necromaster."

"Why does Murdred even _want_ the Necromaster so badly?" asked Dale. "I get that it can supposedly kill anyone. But Murdred's already powerful. If not in raw strength, than in ability and influence."

"I dunno," said Warren, as he shrugged. "I can't think of anybody else who's seemingly immune to death beyond Murdred himself. So it doesn't make sense for him to be so desperate for the Necromaster. Unless there's some greater, unknown entity out there that even Murdred is afraid of."

"Perhaps Murdred just wants the Necromaster to ensure that it's never used against him?" asked Mr. Sorenson.

"Then why would he go through the trouble of finding it and keeping it around, instead of just destroying it?" asked Ingrid. "He clearly wants it functional, hence why he's demanding we bring him the Diavolt and Pyruby."

"We can't seriously provide him with the relics," said Mrs. Sorenson. "But at the same time, I don't want Seth to be in any more danger."

"Hold on a minute," said Warren, "There's a total of five relics, yes?"

"Yeah," said Kendra. "What about them?"

Warren clenched his hand into a fist. "Well, we've got the Sapphazure," he began, holding up his little finger, "the Emerock," he followed, by holding up his ring finger in addition to his little finger, "and the Pyruby," he continued, now holding up his middle finger alongside the previous two.

"Oh sure," said Seth, "represent _my_ relic with your _middle_ finger."

Warren rolled his eyes and let out an innocent smirk. "On top of that, Murdred has the Necromaster." Warren then held up his index finger.

"That just leaves..." began Kendra.

"The Diavolt," continued Warren, as he tapped his still lowered thumb with the index finger of his other hand. "Which is the only one that's unaccounted for."

"But we know where to find it," said Ingrid.

"Exactly," said Warren, as he lowered his other fingers and gave a thumbs up. "If we find the Diavolt, we'll have four out of the five relics. And Murdred has the fifth."

"What are you saying?" asked Grandpa.

"If we play our cards right, we might just be able to steal the Necromaster from Murdred."

"And then we can use the other four relics to get it working!" said Kendra. "And we can kill Murdred!"

"Exactly."

"You really think that'll work?"

"It doesn't sound easy," said Grandpa. "There's still no guarantee you'll find the Diavolt. And even if you do, getting the Necromaster from Murdred will be quite difficult."

"But if this works," said Seth, "then we _might_ just have a chance at killing Murdred. It isn't much to go on, and it sounds incredibly risky, but it's something. Better than just trying to hide from Murdred for the rest of my life."

"That just leaves me with one question," said Ingrid. Where exactly _is_ the Diavolt. In all of this hullabaloo, we never actually _did_ look into it."

"Well," said Seth, as he pulled the piece of parchment out of his pocket, "why don't we just find out the answer for ourselves?"


	9. Directions

**Chapter 9: Directions**

Everyone in the living room was currently staring at the piece of parchment paper that Seth had held up in his hand.

"So," began Grandpa, "this piece of paper is the real deal, then?

"It has to be," said Seth. "At least I hope. The Singing Sisters magically conjured it up."

"I have to ask," said Mrs. Sorenson, "but, where exactly does it say the Diavolt is located?"

Seth winced. "Well, you see... I never actually looked at it yet. I mean, there was just so much commotion between what went on with Murdred, and then getting Ingrid to safety."

"Then we got back, and we've been talking to you guys the whole time," added Ingrid.

"All right, all right," said Grandma. "Would you mind reading the note already?"

"Sure," said Seth, as he proceeded to turn the note into a position where he could read it. Now getting a proper look at the text that was written on the note, Seth could see that the message that had been written on it was roughly a few hundred words in length.

"Well, what does it say?" asked Kendra.

"Crazy," said Seth. "Both Murdred and Helwic were unable to read this paper due to some enchantment."

Kendra peered over at the paper that Seth was holding. From what she could tell, the paper appeared to be a completely blank piece of parchment.

"I can't see anything," said Ingrid.

Seth rolled his eyes. "That's weird. When Murdred and Helwic tried to read it, they both saw a message stating that they were not permitted to read the paper."

"I'm seeing nothing at all," said Kendra.

"Go on," said Grandpa. "Read it already."

Seth began to read the words that had been written on the paper.

"It says that the Diavolt is hidden in Gargantuar," said Seth.

"Gargantuar?" asked Warren. "Where's that?"

"I dunno," said Seth. "Let me continue reading." He then continued to read the note. "Gargantuar is a world beneath our own, where virtually everything is larger than it normally is."

"A world underneath our own?" asked Grandma. "Can't say I've ever heard of such a place."

"Everything's bigger?" asked Ingrid. "Exactly, how big?"

"Doesn't say," said Seth. "What it does say, though, is that the entrance to Gargantuar is located within a rainforest in Cameroon."

"Gargantuar sounds like it's a big place," said Bracken. "Where exactly do we look for the Diavolt?"

Seth continued to read the note. "It just says that the Diavolt can be found within a place called the Grand Temple, which is a magically protected bastion."

"Anything else we should know about?" Grandpa. "It's not that we don't believe you, but we need to be absolutely sure we know what the note actually says.

"Not really," replied Seth, as he continued to skim the note. "Basically, all it's telling me is that the Diavolt is located within the Grand Temple of Gargantuar. Although, it does contain the exact coordinates for the entrance to Gargantuar."

"Seth, would you mind typing up the note for us, word for word?" asked Warren. "That way, we can make more copies of it."

"I don't know if that'll work," said Seth. "Murdred tried to make me copy down the note onto paper, but due to the Singing Sisters' magic, no ink came out of the pen. I might not be able to copy it, even with a computer."

"But wait a moment," said Ingrid. "Only Murdred and Helwic saw that message that forbade them from reading the paper."

"So? I still couldn't copy it."

"Well, it sounds like Murdred and those who are loyal to him, are not allowed to read the paper. But maybe, because the paper appears differently for the rest of us, you might be able to copy it since Murdred and Helwic aren't around."

"That's quite a theory you've got there, Ingrid" said Bracken. "You might as well try it, Seth."

"I wonder," said Mr. Sorenson. "If the Singing Sisters accounted for typing out the note on a computer."

"Okay," said Seth. "I'll see what I can do."

Seth then got up and walked upstairs, making his way into his bedroom. From there, he proceeded to boot up his computer. After loading a word processing program, Seth proceeded to copy the first sentence of the note, word-for-word. The letters that he had typed into the computer were still there, which was already more progress than he had made than when he tried writing it down for Murdred.

Seth spent the next quarter of an hour copying the entire note onto his computer. Once he was finished, Seth went ahead and printed off several copies of the note. The text was still completely legible on the printed pages, and there was nothing magical about the paper or the ink, so he assumed it would be okay.

Seth then returned to the living room, where he presented copies of the note to the others.

"This seems to be more or less what you told us earlier," said Kendra, as she pored over the note. "Thank you."

"You know what?" said Warren, who was looking over his copy of the note. "I bet that the entrance to Gargantuar isn't too far off from Growler's Grove."

"Growler's Grove?" asked Ingrid. "Where's that?"

"It doesn't sound very pleasant," said Seth.

"Well, it _isn't_ pleasant," said Warren. "Growler's Grove is a preserve in the jungles of the Republic of the Congo. I went there back when I was trying to find information on the Sphinx."

"I remember that place!" exclaimed Kendra. "Back when Oblivion caused all of the artifacts to go haywire! Remember? The Translocator kept sending us to the wrong place. And one of those places was a jungle!"

"You're right! You've got quite a memory, Kendra. We were only there for a few seconds."

"That sounds good," said Grandpa. "I imagine that you intend to travel there using the Translocator, then fly the rest of the way to Gargantuar."

"Exactly," said Warren. "I just hope these directions are accurate."

"Me too," said Seth. "The Singing Sisters were not in good shape when they gave me the note. In fact, this whole thing wasn't even an official pact."

"If this is fake, then why?" asked Kendra.

"You don't suppose it's a trap," said Dale.

"I can't imagine why the Singing Sisters would go to all this trouble just to trap me," said Seth. "They want my help."

"But they might not want you retrieving the Diavolt, as it they fear that bringing it to Murdred will only bring him closer to powering up the Necromaster," said Ingrid. "What if they gave you fake directions, just to get you out of the castle?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that our best chance of stopping Murdred is to recover the Diavolt, steal the Necromaster and use the other relics with it so that we can finally kill him once and for all."

"Understood," said Grandpa. "Right now, we're banking on everything going according to plan. If we don't stop Murdred now, we may never be able to do so."

"Do we have to use the Necromaster to stop Murdred?" asked Ingrid. "I mean, isn't there any other way?"

"I wish there was," said Kendra. "But the only way we'd stand a chance would be to trap Murdred outside of the Demon Domain and finish him off. But he's always managed to escape. If only we were stronger, then maybe we'd be able to deal with Murdred in his world."

"That's easy for you to say," said Seth. "I'm a shadow charmer. Just _being_ near Murdred makes me a liability!"

"Look at it this way," said Grandpa. "The only way to deal with Murdred at this point is to go through with using the Necromaster on him. Murdred has allotted Seth one week in which he must retrieve the Diavolt, or so he says. Seems like we should take advantage of this time frame, before Murdred proceeds with his inevitable retaliation."

"So what should we do?" asked Ingrid.

"All of us have had a long day," said Warren. " _Especially_ you and Seth. "I say that we rest up for the night, and then set out early in the morning."

"Good idea," said Grandpa. "Since you're not actually visiting Growler's Grove proper, I don't need to speak to the caretaker to grant you folks access to the preserve."

"Let's tell the dragons about this too," said Kendra. "They're going to be the ones flying us around when the time comes."

"No one's told them that Seth and Ingrid are back yet," said Warren. "They've been worried sick about you two!"

Kendra, Seth and Ingrid made their way outside, then walked over towards the dragons' lair, located in a cave at the end of the back lawn.

"Seth!" gasped Skyfrost, once the dragons spotted the three humans entering their lair.

"Ingrid!" cried Geminus, as she trotted over to Ingrid and gave embraced her in a hug. Likewise, Skyfrost wrapped his wings around Seth's body, completely surrounding him

"What happened to you?" asked Raxtus.

Seth and Ingrid proceeded to relay their misadventure to the dragons. As they did so, Vanessa crawled up onto Skyfrost's body, then bounced over onto Firesquall.

"That's outrageous!" blurted Firesquall, as Seth and Ingrid finished telling their story to the dragons. Vanessa, who was currently creeping around on Firesquall's head, then proceeded to leap off of the green wyvern's snout and into Ingrid's arms.

"What's up with Vanessa?" asked Seth. "She seems really excited about something."

"Vanessa's just happy that you two are back, safe and sound," said Geminus.

"Let me hold her," said Seth.

"Okay," said Ingrid, as she passed Vanessa over to Seth, who accepted her in his arms.

After a few seconds, Vanessa began squirming, and wriggled her way out of Seth's arms. She then waddled over to Kendra and proceeded to hug her leg.

"What gives?" asked Seth. "Vanessa's always liked me."

"Might be a lingering effect of you being in the Demon Domain," said Raxtus. "Don't take it the wrong way. But she _is_ a fairy dragon"

Seth sighed.

"So you'll help us set out for Gargantuar in the morning?" asked Ingrid.

"Of course," replied Geminus.

"Great," replied Kendra. "You dragons rest up tonight. You had a big day today. But tomorrow's journey to Gargantuar's gonna be even bigger. Uh... no pun intended."

"We'll see you in the morning," said Ingrid, as Kendra proceeded to pry Vanessa from off of her leg.

"Good night," said Skyfrost, as Kendra, Seth and Ingrid proceeded to walk out of the lair.

"Come on," said Ingrid. "Let's get ready for bed ourselves. I'm tired and we need to be ready for tomorrow."

As the three kids approached the house, dozens of fairies began flying over towards them from all directions.

"Hey," said Seth, "what's going on?"

The fairies began to fly in circles around Ingrid. A few of them perched themselves upon her shoulders and head. A few more did the same to Kendra.

"What's this all about?" asked Ingrid.

"The fairies heard about what happened," said Kendra. "They must be glad that you're all right."

"I was gone too!" exclaimed Seth, who had not attracted the attention of a single fairy. "I get that they don't even give me the time of day. But why are they so concerned about Ingrid?"

"The fairies respect Ingrid, because she stood up against Murdred the last he was here with Nemenemi."

"It figures," said Seth.

"They respect almost everyone else here, actually. Even Mom and Dad, just because they're the biological parents of the heir to Fairy Queen's throne."

"It's strange knowing that my own sister is actually first in line to become the Fairy Queen," said Ingrid.

"Brillia is just filling in as a regent," said Kendra. "However, as the true heir, I actually have the authority to claim the crown for myself at any time, if I ever wanted to do so."

"So you can become the Fairy Queen whenever you want, basically?"

"More or less. But I'm nowhere close to ready for such a responsibility."

"You're sooo lucky," said Ingrid.

"Oh, you're _sooo_ amazing, Kendra," grumbled Seth. "It's bad enough that the fairies choose to ignore me!"

"At least they're not turning you into some bizarre animal hybrid," said Kendra.

"Shut up. You don't understand what it's like to be me. I just wish those fairies would actually show some admiration for me as well. I killed Demoric! Even if most of them weren't around to actually see it."

"Look, you and Ingrid going missing just happened _today_! The fairies are elated knowing that Ingrid is all right."

"Wish they'd care for me as well," said Seth.

"Where are Newel and Doren?" asked Ingrid, as she glanced around the yard. "They're your friends."

"Probably lounging around in their den," replied Kendra.

Seth groaned. "It was a mistake giving them the Netflix password."

As the three kids reached the back door to the house, all of the fairies that had swarmed around Kendra and Ingrid fluttered away before they stepped inside.

Seth proceeded to march upstairs. He then washed up and got into his nightwear, then laid down on his bed. However, he opted to keep his bedside light on.

Today had turned out to be a very hectic day for Seth. He not only found out the hard way that Murdred was alive and well, but he and Ingrid nearly got killed in the process. He also learned that Murdred had kidnapped the Singing Sisters and used their knowledge to locate the Necromaster. On top of that, Seth had been blackmailed into retrieving the Diavolt, only to have to surrender it and the Pyruby to Murdred. And that wasn't even getting into the failed attempt that Kendra and Warren had made trying to rescue them from the Demon Domain.

Seth sat in bed for the next little while, allowing his light to remain on. No doubt he was exhausted. But he was still overstimulated, and not in the mood to fall asleep.

Suddenly, Seth's silence was broken by someone knocking on his door.

"Come in," said Seth.

The door opened up and Ingrid entered, now wearing her nightgown. "Hey, Seth."

"Oh, hey."

"We really had a rough day today."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Seth. I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" asked Seth. "It's because of me that you got brought into the Demon Domain in the first place. The adlets nearly killed you! What are you thanking me for?"

"Because none of this was your fault. You acted bravely, regardless of the situation at hand. And to me, that's what really matters."

Seth then rose up and got out of bed, so that he was standing in front of Ingrid. Without saying anything, he embraced his sister in a hug.

"I should've done this earlier," said Seth, as he gave Ingrid's body a firm squeeze. "What happened today. It was just so frightening. You almost got killed!"

Ingrid sighed. "At least... it's over now. But it's not the first time any of us were almost killed."

"I know. But today, it just felt like everything that happened to us was all my fault."

"Seth. That was all Murdred's doing and you know it."

"It's the association I have with him. Listen, Ingrid. When the adlets attacked you... I just felt... I froze up. I felt completely helpless."

"I don't blame you," replied Ingrid. "You were completely unarmed. There's no way you could have taken on all three adlets and Helwic. No mortal being alive could've done that."

"You didn't deserve to be attacked. If I had just cooperated with Murdred in the first place, you never would've been put in such danger."

"Seth, I understand _exactly_ why you were so hesitant. Please don't feel remorse over what happened."

"I almost lost you!"

"You convinced Murdred to send both of us home. And you didn't have to surrender the Pyruby to him. At least not yet. I think, keeping in mind the circumstances, that you deserve a little recognition for at least buying us some more time. Even if it is borrowed."

"Thank you," said Seth, finally releasing Ingrid from his grasp. "I just want to get this whole ordeal over with. If we can defeat Murdred once and for all, it'll all be worth it. I hope."

"What do you mean? Of course it'll be worth it. The world deserves to be rid of someone so despicable."

"It's not that," said Seth. "Even before we got involved with Murdred, the fairies and I never really got along all that well. Meanwhile, Kendra seems to keep rising in their ranks. I wanted them to like me all along. But, it seems like no matter what I did, even though it wasn't intentional, only drove me further and further away from me."

"What do the fairies have to do with this?"

"Because my shadow charmer abilities aren't connected to Murdred. If Murdred is stopped, even if I'm the one who's directly responsible for it, the fairies aren't going to like me any better."

"Seth... Don't feel jealous. The fairies are vain."

"I know. But I just wish they at least respected me like they do the rest of the family."

"Seth, I'm really not the one you should be asking about this. I don't control the fairies. In fact, I barely understand them. Just try not to worry about it. You were very heroic today. Which is a lot more than I can say for most fairies out there. Besides, the all the cool ones become fairy angels. And those are the ones we like best."

"You've got a point," said Seth. "I feel better now."

Ingrid nodded and smiled, then turned back towards the door. "Good night, Seth."

"Good night, Ingrid. See you in the morning."


	10. Gargantuar

**Chapter 10: Gargantuar**

The following morning,Seth, Kendra and Ingrid were all woken up at the crack of dawn by Mrs. Sorenson. Now that they had rested up from their previous day, they were ready to set out on their next adventure.

After washing up and getting dressed, the kids all made their way down into the kitchen, where Grandma was preparing a hearty breakfast for them, consisting of bacon and poached eggs served on English muffins, accompanied by slices of oranges. Warren and Bracken were already there, sitting at the dining room table.

Once they had eaten, Kendra, Seth, Ingrid, Warren and Bracken got their gear together and set out into the backyard, where they met up with the dragons outside of their lair.

Kendra stared off towards the east, where she could see the sun still rising above the tops of the trees in the distance, giving off a pinkish hue against the rest of the darker blue sky.

"Is this it then?" asked Warren. "Is everybody ready?"

"I sure am," said Seth. Skyfrost and Firesquall both nodded in agreement.

"Vanessa is still sleeping," said Geminus. "But Dale assured us that he would look after her while we're gone."

"Great," said Warren, as he removed the Translocator from his bag. He proceeded to twist the artifact, then held it out for everyone to touch. "Let's do this."

Once everyone had placed either a hand or claw upon the Translocator, Warren then twisted it again. In an instant, the group found themselves getting pulled through space, as the surrounding yard of Fablehaven magically melted away from view.

Next, the group's destination suddenly came into focus. From what Kendra and Seth could gather, they were now standing in the middle of a jungle somewhere. The warmer climate hit them like a ton of bricks. Exotic plant life surrounded them in every direction, including tall tree trunks and vines dangling from the foliage above.

"Cool," said Seth. "We're in the jungle!"

"Exactly where are we?" asked Ingrid, as she glanced around, displaying a confused look on her face.

"We're in the the Republic of the Congo, about a mile away from Growler's Grove," replied Warren.

"How far is Gargantuar supposed to be from this point?" asked Bracken.

Warren winced. "Probably an hour's flight from here, give or take a few minutes. "You dragons understand where we're headed?"

"Basically," replied Firesquall. "We've memorized the coordinates of the entrance to Gargantuar. Guess we might as well head out and try to reach it."

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all got onto the backs of Raxtus, Skyfrost, Geminus and Firesquall respectively. Likewise, Bracken made himself disappear.

"All right," said Raxtus. "Here we go!"

The four dragons all extended their wings, then took off and proceeded to fly up into the air. They rose up above the highest part of the canopy, and kept going until they were several hundred feet over the ground. Now that they were high up, Kendra could see that the jungle expanded towards the horizon in every direction.

Once they reached a certain altitude, the dragons ceased their accession, and proceeded to fly straight, presumably in a northwesterly direction. One thing Kendra realized was that since their new location was in an earlier timezone than it was at Fablehaven, the sun was no longer in the east. Instead, it was closer to the center of the sky, slightly to the left from the group's current perspective.

The flight itself proved to be a fun experience, just watching the jungles below as the group soared over them. It was actually rather relaxing, and Kendra partially wished that they could just continue flying all day. However, they would ultimately have to enter Gargantuar, where they would undoubtedly run into some sort of threat.

Eventually, the dragons began to descend towards the ground. As they approached, they slowed down, passing through a layer of foliage, before landing in another jungle area. Warren then proceeded to glance at his tablet.

"If our coordinates are correct, then the entrance to Gargantuar should be close by," said Warren, looking around at the surrounding area.

"Are you sure?" asked Seth. "This jungle looks a lot like the one we arrived in."

"How will we know once we reach the entrance?" asked Ingrid.

"Guess we'll know it when we see it," said Kendra. "The paper didn't say anything about a safeguard to conceal the entrance."

"Let's just look for it and see what we can find," said Skyfrost.

Their riders still seated on their backs, the four dragons began to walk through the jungle.

"Think there's anything around he we should look out for?" asked Ingrid.

"I dunno," replied Firesquall. "Warren, are there any magical creatures in this jungle?"

"Probably not," replied Warren. "At least nothing that comes to mind."

"Oh. Then there's nothing to worry about, Ingrid."

"Out here they're not a problem. But _within_ Gargantuar? That's another story."

"Hey, what's that up there?" asked Skyfrost.

The wyvern proceeded to dash forward several yards, then came to a halt. Once he stopped moving, Seth noticed that Skyfrost had stopped in front of a large hole in the ground, at least twenty feet in diameter.

"Hold on," said Geminus, as Seth gazed down into the hole. It was a direct drop, which extended deeper than he could actually make out.

The rest of the group then caught up to where Seth and Skyfrost had stopped.

"Look at that thing," said Ingrid, staring into the hole. "Wouldn't want to take a tumble down there."

"Is this the entrance to Gargantuar?" asked Kendra.

"Looks like it," said Warren, looking over his tablet. "All the pieces fit."

"This is the entrance to Gargantuar?" asked Seth. "Doesn't seem very welcoming."

"Stan did some research on Gargantuar last night," said Warren. "He didn't find a ton of info, but he did point out that long ago, some explorers stumbled upon Gargantuar by accident. Now, they never did close off the entrance, but some time later, a distractor spell was set around it."

"Of course, _we_ were able to bypass it without any trouble," said Raxtus.

"So, is this it?" asked Ingrid. "Do we just head down that hole?"

"Looks like it," said Kendra.

"Not a very wide hole," said Raxtus. "With our wingspans, there's not a lot of room for maneuverability. Kind of a tight squeeze."

At that moment, Bracken suddenly reappeared next to everybody. "I've got an idea. I can fly under my own power. Let me check it out first."

"Go ahead," said Raxtus.

Bracken nodded, then proceeded to jump straight into the hole.

"Bracken!" gasped Kendra, watching as the fairy prince plummeted downwards.

"He's fine," said Geminus.

"I know," said Kendra. "But watching him do that, it felt like my heart just skipped a beat."

The group stood around, waiting for Bracken to return. Kendra tried not to worry about Bracken. Was he okay? Did he get hurt? Was he trapped? She did have Bracken's special coin on her, but didn't want to distract him while he was busy. Still, she wished that he would at least make an effort to contact them. If he was even capable of doing so.

"Guys!" came Bracken's voice through the coin that Kendra was holding in his hand. "Come down here! You won't believe it!"

"Is it safe to jump?" asked Firesquall.

"Don't jump. Just fly down. As long as you're careful, you'll be fine. You _have_ to see this!"

"Guess we better just trust Bracken on this one," said Geminus.

"Last one down is a rotten demon!" blurted Skyfrost, as he plunged himself into the hole head first, with Seth still seated on his backside.

Seth held on tightly as Skyfrost dove down the hole. Although he trusted Skyfrost with his life, Seth knew that the wyvern needed to be careful, as a sudden wrong move in a tight tunnel could end up hurting them severely. Even though Warren had the Sands of Sanctity on hand, there was always the possibility that the impact of a crash could kill them outright. Bracken did state that the hole was safe, but he for one had not flown down at a high speed.

Soon Seth could see light flowing in from the bottom of the hole. Skyfrost zeroed in on the light, and ultimately flew directly into it.

After flying through the hole, Skyfrost appeared to have emerged... in the sky? Seth did a double take. They appeared to be in the air, several hundred feet above a jungle. But something about it felt different.

"There you guys are!" said Bracken, who was floating in the air nearby.

"What is this place?" asked Seth. He looked back up at the hole, and saw that it was actually floating in the sky, almost like a portal. At that moment, Firesquall came speeding through the hole with Warren in tow.

"Crazy!" exclaimed Warren, as he looked around at the jungle below. "There's a whole other world down here!"

Shortly thereafter, Raxtus and Geminus emerged from the hole, bringing with them Kendra and Ingrid.

"How did we get... up _here_?" asked Kendra.

"I don't believe it," said Ingrid. "I just don't believe it!"

"What is this place?" asked Geminus.

"Gargantuar, I think," replied Warren.

"Where's the Grand Temple?" asked Kendra.

"Who knows," replied Seth. "The parchment didn't say _where_ in Gargantuar the temple actually was."

"It's strange," said Kendra, looking around at the world before her. "There's a blue sky down here. But there's no sun."

"This place is magical for sure," said Warren. "I've never so much as even heard of anything quite like this. But I can't make heads or tails of anything from up here. Let's land and try to figure out where we are."

The dragons flew down towards the ground, opting to land in a clearing. As they neared the ground, Kendra and Seth noticed just how large the trees actually were. The trunk of one was probably too wide to fit through the hole they had just passed through.

"Look at this thing," said Seth, as he walked up to a vast tree. This thing's huge!"

"It's bigger than a sequoia," said Kendra, looking up at the foliage. "But it isn't one. I'm not sure what kind of tree this is, but it looks a lot larger than it should be."

"What are those large plants?" asked Ingrid, pointing everyone towards something she had spotted.

Indeed there were a number of plants where Ingrid had been pointing. At first Kendra through they were large bushes. But upon closer inspection, each bush was actually a hibiscus plant. However, the red blossoms on each plant appeared to be at least two feet in diameter.

"Holy!" gasped Warren, his jaw gaped open. "Those flowers are huge!"

"Everything's enormous here!" exclaimed Kendra. "It's like we shrunk! Or we entered some sort of land of the giants!"

"Look, up there!" said Ingrid as she pointed up towards the branches the trees.

Kendra and Seth looked up at where Ingrid was pointing. It took a moment to spot, but there appeared to be a red parrot perched on one of the branches.

"Wow," said Seth. "It's hard to tell from down here, but that bird's probably the size of one of us!"

"Wonder if he's one of those talking parrots," said Warren. "Maybe then he could tell us where to find the Grand Temple."

"Something tells me we're just gonna have to find the temple for ourselves."

"It's might be hard to find if we fly above all these trees," said Skyfrost. "Maybe we just ought to stay closer to the ground.

With their riders still seated on their backs, the dragons proceeded to fly through the jungle, but remained fairly close to the ground. What Kendra had pointed out earlier seemed to be true. They _did_ appear to be in a land of giants, as far as their perspective was concerned.

"You think this temple would be easy to find," said Seth. "If everything here is big, why not the temple?"

"Hard to say," replied Warren. "Everything we've seen so far is organic. A temple would've been man-made. So the size of it might be questionable."

"You think there are any giant-sized humans living down here?" asked Kendra.

Before anyone could answer, a huge figure pounced out from behind a tree. Kendra and Seth looked to their side and saw that a humongous black panther, one that towered over everyone, had just assaulted Geminus, and had pinned her to the ground.

"Help!" shrieked Ingrid, who was lying on her back next to Geminus. The fairy dragon was trying to force her way out of the panther's grasp, but comparatively speaking, she was like a mouse trying to escape from a cat's clutches.

"Hey!" roared Skyfrost. "You leave them alone!"

"Easy," said Bracken. "Allow me".

Bracken extended his hands, and seemingly tried to exert magic of some sort. However, nothing happened.

"Uhh Bracken," said Kendra.

"My magic!" exclaimed Bracken. "It's not working!"

"Ingrid!" gasped Seth. Without hesitation, Seth whipped the Pyruby out of his bag. He then proceeded to blast a stream of fire directly at the panther's backside.

The panther roared in pain, then bounced up about one-hundred feet into the air. As he came down, the giant cat landed on all four feet, but was now standing directly above Geminus and Ingrid. It then pounced at Skyfrost. The force of the impact made Seth lose his grip on the Pyruby, causing it to fall down to the ground below.

"Seth!" exclaimed Kendra. "Skyfrost! Are you okay?"

Before anyone could react, the panther lowered its head and snatched Ingrid up with its teeth, with her dangling by her shirt.

"HELP!" screamed Ingrid, as the panther began to run away, still holding on to her.

"LET HER GO!" cried Warren, as he and Firesquall began to soar after the panther. Likewise, Skyfrost followed him with Seth still on his back.

The two wyverns pursued the panther through the jungle.

"BLAST HIM!" yelled Seth.

"NO!" cried Firesquall. "That panther's moving too fast! If I'm not careful, I could burn Ingrid, or start a forest fire!"

"Allow me," said Skyfrost, as he proceeded to exhale his icy breath towards the panther. However, it didn't so much as faze him.

"It's not working!" exclaimed Warren. "He's too fast and too big to really feel anything!"

"Let me try something," said Firesquall.

The green wyvern caught up with the panther's tail, then proceeded to clench his jaws down onto it. The panther let out a loud yowl, causing him to drop Ingrid to the ground. However, he was now fixated on a new target. Firesquall. It began to chase after Firesquall, who proceeded to soar up through the foliage of the trees.

This didn't stop the panther. It leaped up several dozen feet onto a high branch of a tree, and continued to chase Firesquall further upwards through the canopy.

Intrigued, Skyfrost followed the panther up through the canopy, until he rose above the trees. Grasping onto the highest branches of one of the trees was the panther, snarling at Firesquall.

"I can't get a good shot at this thing!" exclaimed Firesquall, who was keeping his distance from the panther, who in turn was trying to claw at him, but was too far out of reach.

"I've got the Sapphazure," said Warren, "but I'd prefer it if you didn't burn the trees."

I'll get him," said Skyfrost, as he went ahead and exerted his icy breath at the panther's tail. The massive beast let out a loud scowl, as his tail began to freeze up in a layer of ice.

"Nice job," said Warren. "He can't keep his balance with a frozen tail! Firesquall, bombs away!"

Seth watched as Firesquall blasted the panther directly in the face with a stream of fire. Letting out one more holler, the panther bounced out of the tree, then fell down through the canopy, crashing onto the floor of the jungle below.

Skyfrost and Firesquall flew down to where the panther had landed. The enormous cat got up onto his feet, then immediately bolted off in another direction.

"Take that, you stupid bully!" snapped Seth, as Skyfrost landed next to where Kendra, Raxtus, Ingrid and Geminus were waiting. Seth then climbed down from Skyfrost and knelt down next to Ingrid. "Ingrid, are you okay?"

"Somehow," replied Ingrid. "I got a few scrapes, but nothing serious. Didn't want Raxtus or Geminus to exhaust their power on me if they didn't have to."

"Thank god you're okay," said Warren, as he got down from Firesquall and proceeded to pour the Sands of Sanctity over Ingrid's body.

"I believe this is yours," said Kendra, as she presented the Pyruby to Seth.

"Don't mention it," grumbled Seth, accepting his relic from Kendra.

"Thanks for saving me," said Ingrid, looking up at Skyfrost and Firesquall.

"Our pleasure," said Firesquall. "You're like family to us."

"Warren was pretty clever though," said Skyfrost. "I had no idea that panther was so dependent on its tail. I know mine helps me fly, but I never considered balance."

"I know a lot about cats," said Warren. "If I wasn't already living on a preserve full of magical creatures, I'd probably own one or twenty. But no panthers, thank you very much. As if the guardian of the Inverted Tower wasn't enough."

"I wish I could've done more," said Seth. "All I did was irritate that panther and drop the Pyruby. Ingrid. I'm sorry."

Ingrid sighed. "Don't worry about it. We're okay now."

"No thanks to me."

"Calm down," said Bracken. "This isn't a competition."

"Bracken, how come your magic didn't work earlier?"

"I don't know," said Bracken, as he snapped his fingers. "It's like I can't utilize magic down here. I was able to fly in, because I triggered that power before entering. But I can't do it now."

"The Pyruby still worked," said Seth. "It must not be affected."

"Where do we go from here?" asked Geminus, looking around at their current surroundings.

"Well, the entrance was back that way," said Kendra, pointing back to where they had entered Gargantuar. "And we've gone a bit deeper thanks to that panther chase. We might as well keep exploring at this point."


	11. The Grand Temple

**Chapter 11: The Grand Temple**

Now deeper into the jungle of Gargantuar, the group continued to walk down the path through the massive trees that stood before them. Not having any clearer directions, the group seemingly found themselves wandering through the jungle.

Kendra had considered asking Bracken if there was any way for him to "sense" for where the temple could be. However, she then remembered him pointing out that some greater force had been suppressing his power within Gargantuar.

"How are we ever going to find this temple?" moaned Seth.

"I don't know," replied Bracken. "My power feels really strange in this place. Just hang in there."

"You don't understand how anxious I am! We need to find the Grand Temple and get the Diavolt already! The sooner, the better!"

"We know, we know," said Warren. "We've been over this like a hundred times already."

"Sorry. But I'm desperate! Those Singing Sisters are depending on us! The rest of the family is depending on us! _I'm_ depending on us! And now we've got to find this stupid, hidden temple that could be anywhere! It's probably hidden really well too. Why couldn't the sisters have given me better directions?"

"Is that it?" asked Skyfrost, pointing forwards with his wing.

"You see it?" asked Kendra.

"I see _something._ I'm gonna go check it out."

Skyfrost proceeded to fly ahead of the group, toting Seth on his back. Before long, Skyfrost had flown into a clearing where a stone structure, no bigger than a townhouse, was situated.

"Whoa," said Seth, as Skyfrost landed in front of the structure. "What is this place?"

"Is this the Grand Temple?" asked Ingrid.

"I dunno," replied Raxtus. "For a place like Gargantuar, I was expecting something a little bigger."

Everybody took a good look at the structure. Cube-shaped, the structure had been built out of a brownish, brick-like stone, and had a large stairway built into the front side, leading underground. Many intricate markings had been carved onto the outer walls of the structure.

The group walked around the perimeter of the structure, and found that the entrance at the front had been the only opening.

"You suppose this is it?" asked Kendra.

"If it is," said Seth, "then it wasn't all that well hidden. Even if we did stumble onto it through dumb luck."

"Well, what makes you think a place called the Grand Temple would be hidden?" asked Geminus. "With a name like that, you'd think the builders would want everybody to be able to find it. Sounds like a landmark."

"It's possible," said Warren. "Doubt that too many intelligent creatures come around these parts. And most of the creatures that live here are probably too big to even fit through this passage."

"We've come this far," said Seth. "We might as well go inside and check this place out. Whether it is the Grand Temple or not."

With Kendra seated upon his backside, Raxtus proceeded to walk into the entrance first. Although there was ample room for a fairy dragon like Raxtus to fit through the entrance, Kendra was unable to imagine a larger creature such as the panther being capable of getting through.

Raxtus made his way down the stairway, and the others all followed his lead. The stairway seemed to extend incredibly deep beneath the ground, to a point where Kendra was unable to determine where the bottom actually was.

After Raxtus had gone down the stairs for a considerable distance, Kendra glanced back at the group. She was unable to see the top of the stairs behind them at this point. Looking forward, Kendra was still unable to see the bottom, even as Raxtus continued to make his way downward.

"How deep is this place?" asked Ingrid.

"I dunno," said Seth. "But something tells me the deeper this place goes, the more important it must be."

Finally, after walking down for at least five minutes, even though they had not been moving too fast, Kendra could finally see what appeared to be the bottom of the stairs coming into view. At last Raxtus had come out at the bottom as the stairs, soon followed by the others.

"What is this place?" asked Seth, as he gazed around at the room they were now in. The room itself was quite large and spacious. Roughly the size of a football field, the ceiling was also fairly high, making Seth wonder if one could play football according to official NFL rules.

However, that idea was quickly quashed once Seth noticed something drastic that he was surprised he hadn't noticed at first. There was a huge pool of water that took up most of the space in the room, save for the entrance. From what Seth could tell, there was another ledge at the far end of the room, where the exit appeared to be located.

"What are we supposed to do here?" asked Ingrid.

"It's only water," said Firesquall. "We can just fly across!"

"No," said Warren. "That would be way too easy. I think we'd better assess the situation at hand before jumping to any conclusions."

Warren got down off of Firesquall and walked over to the edge of the platform. He the knelt down, placed his hands on the ledge and peered down into the pool. A moment later, he bounced back from the edge, landing on his rear end.

"Warren," said Kendra. "What is it?"

"Crocodiles," replied Warren. "This pool is _filled_ with crocodiles! _Big_ crocodiles."

"Big?" asked Seth. "Exactly, how big?"

"Really big. You know how big that panther was? Well, compare a normal panther to a normal crocodile. _That_ should give you an idea as to how big these guys are."

"Why are you so scared?" asked Seth, as he stared out across the pool. "There's gotta be at least a thirty foot drop between here and the surface of the water."

"It wouldn't surprise me if those things could jump up really high."

"You think I could take a look at them?" asked Kendra.

"I dunno. The last thing you'd want to see is those crocodiles looking at you."

"Well, what if they can't see me? What if I used the invisibility gloves?

"Not a bad idea," said Warren, as he reached into his bag and removed both of the magical gloves. "But be on your guard."

"Thanks," said Kendra, as she accepted the gloves from Warren. She then slipped them over her wrists, and everybody watched as her body disappeared from sight.

"At least those work down here," said Bracken.

Kendra cautiously walked over to the edge of the platform, then knelt down and gazed out into the pool. The surface of the water was seemingly swarming with gigantic crocodiles. Dozens and dozens of crocodiles, to the point where the reptiles were probably occupying ninety percent of the water's surface area.

Warren had apparently not been exaggerating. Each one of the crocodiles had to have been at least as the size of the panther from earlier, if not larger. Having seen what she had come to see, Kendra backed away from the ledge and removed the gloves from her hands.

"We need a way across," said Geminus. "All of us."

"Can't you dragons just fly us across?" asked Seth. "I mean, you're fast. Especially the wyverns. And besides, how high can those alligators jump?"

"Crocodiles," said Kendra. "Alligators are only native to the United States and China."

"Alligators, crocodiles, whatever. They're all the way down in that pool. If we just fly across, by the time one of them jumps out, we'll be way past it."

"Not if they attack as a group," said Raxtus.

"What do you mean?" asked Ingrid.

"Well, back at Wyrmroost, a lot of the creatures, including the other dragons, often hunted in packs."

"Like the perytons," sighed Warren.

"Yeah..." continued Raxtus. "So if one of those crocodiles goes after us, there's a good chance that the others will follow suit."

"How fast can they be?" asked Seth. "Besides, I'm sure that Skyfrost and Firesquall can zip across this room in a flash!"

"I'm not sure about that," said Skyfrost. "There's nowhere for us to build up speed in here."

"Not to mention there's no wind," added Firesquall. "I don't see us flying really fast without any thermal or jet stream support."

"Well, how are we supposed to get across if not all of you dragons can make yourself hidden?" asked Ingrid.

"You don't think you could perhaps freeze the water, do you you Skyfrost?" asked Seth.

" _All_ of that water?" retorted the wyvern. "No way! I mean, it's a good idea in theory, especially since reptiles are cold-blooded. But there's way too much water, and way too many crocodiles! They'd lash out at me before I even finished what I was starting!"

"So what do we do?" asked Raxtus. " I can get across no problem. As could anyone wearing the gloves. But what about Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall?"

"I can't exhaust my magic on all of you dragons," said Bracken. "It hardly seems to work down here as it is."

"Then we'll just have to take the risk," said Firesquall, crossing his wings together. "I didn't come all this way just to turn around because of some oversized, primitive ancestors of ours!"

"Firesquall," said Warren. "You don't have to do this. You've been an amazing help to us already. It's okay if you can't go any further."

"I have to try. Besides, if those crocodiles go after me, then Skyfrost and Geminus can observe them and know what to expect when they fly across."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" asked Warren. "Don't feel obligated."

"But Seth is depending on us," said Skyfrost. "He needs all the help he can get. And we're not helping him if we can't get past these crocodiles."

"You guys," said Seth, who was feeling overcome with guilt. "Please. Don't push yourselves."

"But we want to help," said Skyfrost. "Even if things are looking grim."

"You do realize the risk," said Warren.

Skyfrost and Firesquall both nodded.

"Okay then. Firesquall, you and I will go first."

Warren climbed up onto Firesquall's backside. He looked over at the rest of his allies and nodded at them.

"Good luck," said Ingrid.

"Let's do this," said Firesquall. He immediately leaped into the air and proceeded to fly over the water. However, Kendra was quick to notice that Firesquall was not moving nearly as fast as he normally did.

Suddenly, no more than two seconds after taking off, a crocodile lunged out of the water, attempting to snatch Firesquall with its jaws. The wyvern swiftly dodged the crocodile's teeth, as it then fell back down into the pool.

"Watch out!" shrieked Ingrid.

Before Firesquall could react, three more crocodiles all shot out of the water and tried to snap at him, only for the wyvern to narrowly dodge them all.

More and more crocodiles continued to leap out of the water, all of them trying to catch Firesquall in their jaws. Coming up in all directions, Firesquall found himself unable to fly forward in a straight line. The constant barrage of crocodiles caused him to swerve to the side, back up, and fly in zigzagging formations just to evade their constant jaws.

Even as Firesquall flew as close to the ceiling as possible, he still managed to be within reach of the crocodiles. As one crocodile failed to catch Firesquall and fell back down into the pool, another crocodile crawled on top of it and attempted to jump at him as well.

"There's too many of them!" cried Kendra. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Bracken. "Firesquall! Get back here!"

"I'm trying!" roared Firesquall, as he swerved away from the jaws of another crocodile. Barely missing him, the crocodile's snout crashed into the ceiling, before it plummeted back down into the pool.

Firesquall did not appear to be making any real progress; the constant bombardment of crocodiles simply made it too difficult for him to actually fly across the room. Instead, Firesquall was flapping about chaotically towards the front of the room, continuously trying to avoid being eaten.

Soon enough, Kendra and Seth watched as one crocodile shot up from out of the water, directly underneath where Firesquall was fluttering around. Its massive mouth wide open, the crocodile clamped its jaws all the way around both Firesquall and Warren, then dropped back down into the pool.

Kendra and Seth were in shock, as were the rest of their allies. They thought as though their hearts had been ripped from their stomachs. A million terrible thoughts began racing through Kendra's mind.

"NO!" screamed Seth. "WARREN! FIRESQUALL!"

Without a second thought, Seth whipped his sword from its sheath and began to march towards the edge of the platform. However, he was stopped by Bracken, who had grabbed him by his wrist and was holding him back.

"Somebody help!" shrieked Ingrid.

"What do we do?" squealed Kendra, who could feel tears building up in her eyes.

"Let me go!" snapped Seth, trying to wriggle himself free from Bracken's grasp.

"Seth, I'm sorry," said Bracken, as Skyfrost grabbed Seth's other arm.

"There's nothing we can do," said Skyfrost, shaking his head. "Poor crocodile."

Suddenly, a crocodile emerged from the water, smoke fuming from its nostrils. Without warning, its mouth opened up, and a large stream of fire came blasting out into the air, causing all the nearby crocodiles to back off in terror.

Just then, Firesquall and Warren came darting out of the crocodile's still-open mouth, then flew all the way back to the ledge at the front of the room. Unable to maintain his balance, Firesquall stumbled to keep his footing, and fell over onto the floor.

"Oh my god," said Kendra, who could feel her heart skip several beats as she walked up to Firesquall and Warren. Both of them were absolutely drenched in saliva. "Are you guys okay?"

Breathing heavily, Warren then let out a sigh. "We're alive. We got eaten. But we're alive. That croc was a crock."

"Are you hurt?" asked Geminus.

"No, but that crocodile probably is," replied Firesquall.

"I guess spicy food doesn't agree with him," chimed in Skyfrost.

"That was so frightening," said Ingrid, as she gave Warren a hug, causing her to get soaked in crocodile saliva. "You could've been killed."

"Wouldn't have been the first time," said Warren. "Course, it help that he ate us in one gulp, and didn't attempt to chew his food."

"We were down, but not out," said Firesquall. "That crocodile was big, but his inside is probably no different than a normal-sized crocodile's. The flesh is highly vulnerable to fire."

"Well, you managed to frazzle one crocodile," said Raxtus. "But what are we supposed to do about the rest of them?"

"Forget it!" snapped Firesquall, as Warren proceeded to wash off the saliva that was on his body with the Sapphazure. "I'm not doing that a hundred more times!"

"I think we're going about this entirely the wrong way," said Warren, as he proceeded to spray water onto his own body. :We can't over-power them, and we can't out-speed them. What can we do?"

"Well, I don't know what the deal is with magic in this place," said Kendra., "but if nothing else, the artifacts and the relics all seem to work down here."

"But not my powe," said Bracken. "Not that I'm even sure what I could do to help if it _did_ work."

"What can we do?" asked Geminus. "None of us are powerful enough to deal with those crocodiles."

"What we need is a better approach," said, Firesquall, as he shook off the excess water from the Sapphazure that had been dripping down his body. "A smarter approach."

Suddenly, an idea popped in to Kendra's mind. "The Translocator! We can use it to get everybody across!"

"How do you figure?" asked Skyfrost. "Someone still needs to get across to the other side in order to actually use it."

"Leave that to me," said Raxtus.

Warren proceeded to smack his head. "Why didn't _we_ think of that? It's like my entire right brain just froze up! I couldn't think of anything!"

"Probably because you layed eyes on all those crocodiles," said Bracken. "Don't kick yourself over it. They had all of us on edge."

"I just hope those crocodiles can't smell as well as they can see," said Raxtus, as Warren presented the Translocator to Kendra.

Kendra placed the Translocator into her bag, then slipped on both of the invisibility gloves, allowing herself to become invisible. Next, she got up onto Raxtus' backside, and the fairy dragon proceeded to render himself invisible as well.

"I hope this works," said Geminus. "If those crocodiles make any sudden movements, please get back here."

Kendra sensed as Raxtus proceeded to flap his wings, then took off into the air. He began to soar over the pool. Kendra gazed down below and could see the heads of many crocodiles. However, they completely failed to notice her and Raxtus, a complete one-eighty compared to what had happened with Firesquall and Warren.

Worried that at some point, the crocodiles would somehow notice the two of them, Kendra couldn't help but imagine an entire horde of them suddenly jumping up from the water and attacking.

Before long, Raxtus had reached the far side of the room, completely unnoticed by the crocodiles, who seemed to occupy the entire pool from end to end. Once Raxtus came down for a landing, he and Kendra both regained their visibility.

This other side of the pool seemed to be fairly similar to the entrance, complete with a passageway leading to the next area. Kendra proceeded to remove the Translocator from her bag, twisted it, and allowed herself to be pulled through space.

Kendra suddenly reappeared back at the entrance to the room, where the rest of the allies were all waiting.

"All right!" exclaimed Seth. "Raxtus did it! We can get across!"

Kendra smiled and nodded, then twisted the Translocator again. "Come on, let's get moving!"

Once everybody was touching the Translocator, Kendra twisted it once more, bringing the group across to the far side of the room, where Raxtus was waiting.

"Sure beats my attempt," said Firesquall. "Let's keep moving!"

Seth turned back and faced the pool full of crocodiles. "See you later, alligators!"

Kendra rolled her eyes. "In a while, crocodiles."


	12. Tile and Error

**Chapter 12: Tile and Error**

Kendra, Seth, and the rest of their group proceeded to walk through the exit of the room with the crocodile pool, which led into a stairway that continued further down into the temple.

"Man, those crocodiles were merciless," said Seth, as he walked down the stairs. "I don't know how we ever would've gotten past them if we couldn't cheat like the way we did."

"They probably designed it that way on purpose," said Bracken. "These vaults are meant to keep the relics protected. Which they wouldn't do a very good job of if anybody could just waltz in and grab the treasure."

"I wonder," said Warren. "If there even was a _correct_ way to getting past those crocodiles. That's the trouble with these vaults. They were not built for mortal men to traverse."

"We've come so far," said Ingrid. "I sure hope we're able to reach the Diavolt. It's the only thing standing between us and stopping Murdred."

"That was a pretty good strategy, Kendra," said Skyfrost. "Just bypassing the hazards of the previous room with invisibility, then warping the rest of us across."

"Maybe it'll work again in the next room," said Firesquall. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling that there's more to this place than just a room full of crocodiles."

"Let's just see what the next room has in store for us," said Raxtus. "And let's all try to think out a surefire plan for getting through before jumping in head first."

"Got it," said Kendra, as the rest of her allies all nodded in agreement.

The stairs continued down considerably further, although not quite as deep as the first stairway that led from the entrance to the crocodile room. Before long, they had reached the bottom of the stairway, and had arrived at the entrance to the next room.

Roughly the same size as the previous room, this next one instead had level flooring and did not contain a pool or other such pit. From what Kendra could tell, there did not appear to be any features of significance. Standing from inside the entryway, it looked to be nothing more than a large, but otherwise empty room.

"Hold it," said Firesquall, "something's not right."

"What's that?" asked Ingrid.

"I can't see an exit to this room. At least not on the other side."

"You're right," said Skyfrost, peering across the room. "The exits in the previous room were centered, parallel from each other. This one doesn't have an exit at the other side."

"You don't suppose the Diavolt is hidden in this room, do you?" asked Seth. "It would explain why there's no exit on the other side that we can see."

"We're not entirely positive if this place _is_ even the Grand Temple," replied Warren. "It could be something else altogether, for all we know."

"We might as well explore this room anyway," said Geminus. "I can't see any apparent dangers to look out for, unlike the previous room with its crocodiles."

"Yeah," added Raxtus. "There's gotta be more to this room than meets the eye."

"Be on your guard," everybody," said Warren, as he proceeded to step out of the entryway and into the room proper.

The moment Warren set foot in the room, the floor surrounding him started to glow yellow.

"Uh, Warren," said Seth. "What did you just do?"

"I have no idea," said Warren, admiring the section of the floor that was now glowing.

"Do you feel anything?" asked Bracken.

"Nothing unusual. The glowing feels pretty harmless."

"Okay," said Kendra, as she proceeded to step onto the glowing area where Warren was currently standing.

Before long, the entire group had moved onto the glowing area, which was roughly a fifteen-by-fifteen foot square. In fact, Kendra soon noticed that the glowing section that they were standing on was actually but a single tile in the otherwise massive room. From what she could figure, there were undoubtedly hundreds of other tiles in the room, arranged in a grid.

"This is weird," said Raxtus. "But I'm not sensing any danger. I'm going to go fly around the room and see if I can find anything else of interest. Wait here."

Everyone else waited as Raxtus took off into the air. The group watched as Raxtus proceeded to circle around the room, then came back down for a landing within the glowing, yellow area.

"Sorry," said Raxtus, as he shook his head. "But I couldn't find anything of interest. No exit. Nothing."

"What I want to know is why this panel is glowing yellow," said Bracken.

"Beats me," said Warren. "All I did was step on this panel, and it lit up. Wish I knew what it meant, though."

Curious, Seth walked over onto the next panel to the right. The moment he set his foot onto it, it too began to emit a peculiar yellow glow, just as the other one had.

"Cool," said Seth. "This one started glowing as well."

"Yeah, but why?" asked Ingrid.

"Let's try another one," said Skyfrost, as he stepped forward onto the next panel in front of first panel that everyone else was standing on. Unsurprisingly, it began to glow yellow in the same manner as the first two.

"Are they all like this?" asked Geminus.

"It wouldn't surprise me," replied Warren.

"You think maybe we're supposed to light up all the tiles in a specific sequence?" asked Bracken.

"If so, what is it?" asked Raxtus.

"Well, there haven't been any signs as to whether what we're doing is right or wrong," said Seth. "At this point, we might as well try lighting up as many tiles as we can..."

"Maybe even the whole room!" said Kendra, interrupting Seth. "See if it's possible to light up every last tile."

Seth rolled his eyes. "I was gonna... never mind."

"Might as well split up for this," said Warren, as he stepped forward onto the tile that Skyfrost had advanced to. "We can cover more ground that way."

The group then proceeded to branch apart, each member either heading off either to the side or down a different row. As they moved apart, Kendra noticed that each tile that somebody set foot on started glowing yellow, just like the others.

Seth began to make his way down one row of tiles. After reaching the fourth tile or so, he stopped and looked to his sides. Nobody was going down the rows surrounding him, as evidenced by the tiles in them not glowing.

"This is gonna take forever," said Seth to himself. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Why walk on one row at a time? I've got two feet! I can do two rows at once!"

Seth stepped over onto the tile to his immediate left, then back-tracked until he reached the last tile in the row, causing it to light up. He was now prepared to walk back down the two rows at once, with one foot on each row.

Seth then placed his right foot down onto the adjacent tile of the row he had just previously walked down. Already glowing yellow, Seth was caught off guard as the glow inexplicably changed to an intense red.

"What the heck?" muttered Seth, wondering why the tile was now glowing in a different color.

Suddenly a large, purple, serpentine figure appeared in the center of the room. Easily large enough to rival Mariana at her full size, the purple figure appeared to be an enormous mamba; its underside a lighter shade of purple.

"What's that?" exclaimed Ingrid, who was by herself in another section of the room.

The mamba turned its head towards Seth, and proceeded to slither along the floor. What Seth noticed was that it wasn't directly aiming for him. Rather, it was travelling straight down a row of tiles, but was no doubt targeting him. However, it was moving fast.

"Seth!" exclaimed Warren. "That snake's going straight for him!"

Seth whipped out the Pyruby and directed a stream of fire directly at the mamba's incoming face. However, it did not seem to effect the oversized serpent in any way. Not knowing what else to do, Seth proceeded to diverge from his path, running past several rows that others had already walked down. Although he was too busy running to pay much attention, he noticed that every yellow tile he stepped on changed color to red upon being touched.

"You dumb snake, leave him alone!" roared Skyfrost, as he flew over towards the mamba and exhaled a blast of ice in its face. However, the snake was still completely unfazed, as the ice wasn't enough to deter him from his goal.

"Nothing's working!" cried Seth, as he began running across some tiles in a diagonal formation. Although the snake was faster, Seth realized that it kept following him while adhering to rows and columns, not unlike a rook in a game of chess.

"Oh no!" cried Kendra, who had returned to the front of the room, only to see that there was no longer an entryway. The entrance! It's disappeared!"

"We've gotta do something!" exclaimed Warren, as he blasted the mamba from a distance with water from the Sapphazure, although his attack proved to be ineffective.

"We could escape!" shouted Kendra. "I still have the Translocator on me!"

"But we're not all together!" stated Geminus.

"Everyone!" said Warren, "try to make your way to Kendra!"

"Easier said than done!" cried Seth, who was still being pursued by the mamba.

Seth continued running, although he soon realized that he was heading towards a corner of the room, where it wouldn't be too hard for the mamba to intercept him. The room itself was very large, and he was starting to get tired from running so extensively.

"Leave him alone!" blared Geminus, as she exerted a blast of fiery light energy at the mamba. Raxtus joined in from nearby with his own light energy. However, their combined power still didn't seem to effect the snake in any way whatsoever.

"There's no stopping this thing!" quipped Bracken. "It's like it's invincible!"

"Of course!" exclaimed Kendra, as an idea suddenly popped into her head. She quickly reached into her bag and whipped out the Emerock. "Maybe we can't defeat the snake. But I can still trap it!"

Still slithering through the room after Seth, Kendra was able to predict the mamba's path due to its grid-based movement. Focusing strongly, she envisioned a section of the ceiling lowering and crushing the immense reptile. However, something felt wrong. The Emerock was not responding to her thoughts. She tried focusing a second time. Nothing felt off about the Emerock, but for some inexplicable reason it wasn't doing anything. It was almost as if the room was magically protected somehow.

The mamba had now successfully blocked Seth off in a corner of the room. Its body remained on a path of tiles, twisting and turning in order to keep moving in a grid-like pattern. However, Seth could not escape from it; the mamba's body was simply too high for him to overcome.

Seth drew his sword from his sheath, as the mamba's head neared him. Mouth wide open, the snake displayed a set of long, venomous fangs. Seth was feeling fearful, yet confident at the same time. Why couldn't the gloves be with him right now, instead of with Kendra?

As the mamba closed in on him, Seth thrust his sword against the monster's snout. It completely repelled Seth's attack, causing the sword to go flying out of his hand.

Now looming directly over Seth, the mamba raised its head and gazed down upon him. Before it could actually strike, Skyfrost swooped down and grabbed Seth with his talons, then swerved out of the corner.

"Close one," said Skyfrost, as he flew Seth across the room, away from the snake.

"I owe you one," said Seth. "But I don't think we can out-fly him! The ceiling in this place isn't very high!"

Seth watched as the snake worked its way out of the corner, the proceeded to slither down a column of tiles until he reached the row where Seth was currently dangling from Skyfrost's talons.

"I can't keep flying you around like this!" stated Skyfrost. "Not forever!"

"How do we stop this thing?" asked Raxtus. "It's too powerful for any of us!"

Kendra watched as the mamba continued trying to pursue Seth. As it made its way down a row of tiles, she noticed that the tiles that it slithered over did not change color. The ones that were not glowing remained as such, and the ones that had been yellow, stayed yellow.

"I've got an idea," shouted Kendra. "Let's keep turning all of the tiles yellow! The snake doesn't have any influence over their colors, so don't worry about the ones it touches!"

Kendra then started running down a column of several non-glowing tiles, turning them yellow as she set foot on each one. She then, unintentionally, stepped onto a tile that was already yellow, turning it red.

"Oh no!" gasped Kendra, worried that another bad thing would happen upon turning the yellow tile red. But nothing appeared to have transpired. Not knowing what to do, Kendra stepped forward onto the next unlit tile, causing it to glow yellow.

Kendra then looked back at the red tile she had crossed and thought. If stepping on a blank tile turned it yellow, and stepping on a yellow tile turned it red, what would become of stepping on a red tile? Nothing at all? Something bad? Whatever it was, Kendra was anxious to find out.

Kendra stepped back onto the red tile, causing it to revert back to yellow. An idea suddenly crossed her mind. If triggering a red tile summoned the snake, then could turning all the red tiles back to yellow somehow revoke it? Right now, it was worth a try. The only other red tiles that Kendra was aware of were the ones that Seth had created at the entrance to the room.

With the snake still fixated on catching Seth, Kendra scurried back to the entrance of the room, making sure to not step on any yellow tiles. She soon made it back, and stepped on both of the red tiles, reverting both of them to yellow. Now there was just the original goal of turning all of the tiles yellow.

But how? From her current position, Kendra was surrounded by yellow tiles in every direction, including diagonals. Unless she and her allies were flawless, they risked turning more tiles red in the event that they got trapped. Also, what if the goal wasn't to turn all of the tiles yellow, but to red?

"Raxtus!" cried Kendra. "Fly over to me, but don't land anywhere!"

"Got it," said Raxtus, as he soared over to Kendra, flapping his wings to keep airborne by her side. Kendra then climbed up onto his back.

"Raxtus, I want to you to continue making more blank tiles yellow. But try not to turn more of them red."

"Okay," replied Raxtus, as he landed at the end of a nearby row of blank tiles, then proceeded to march down them, turning them all yellow.

"Geminus!" exclaimed Kendra. "Firesquall! Pick up Ingrid, Warren and Bracken! That way, they won't get stuck in an area of yellow tiles!"

"Okay," said Geminus, as she soared over to Ingrid.

Soon everyone was on the back of a dragon, save for Seth, who was still hanging from Skyfrost's talons, as they were still being pursued by the mamba.

"Keep that snake busy, Skyfrost!" exclaimed Warren, as he flew past on Firesquall. "It's Seth he wants!"

"What gave it way, genius?" asked Seth.

Raxtus, Geminus and Firesquall all proceeded to fly over to any area full consisting of blank tiles, then landed, turning all of them yellow. Before long, nearly one full side of the room contained nothing but a floor full of glowing yellow tiles.

"Skyfrost," said Kendra, "the snake had no effect on the yellow tiles! Lure him over here!"

"Okay," said Skyfrost, as he flew over towards the completed side of the room, luring the snake along with him.

Raxtus, Geminus and Firesquall all flew down onto the remaining areas with blank tiles, and proceeded to step on as many as they could find. There were even a few red tiles scattered around in some sections, no doubt triggered by Seth while he was being by chased by the mamba while on foot.

After enough running and bouncing around, Kendra glanced around. From what she could tell, every last tile in the room was now glowing yellow. Suddenly, the massive mamba seemingly vanished from the room.

"I don't believe it!" gasped Seth. "Somehow, that actually worked!"

Next, the glowing tiles all changed from yellow to green, giving both Kendra and Seth a feeling of accomplishment.

"What's going on?" asked Geminus.

Kendra then noticed that not only did the entryway to the room suddenly reappear, but that an exit also appeared across from it at the far wall.

"I think we did it!" exclaimed Kendra.

"But what about the tiles?" asked Ingrid. "What'll happen if we step on a green one?"

"We can't fly into entryway!" said Skyfrost, still soaring around in the air. "It's too narrow! We have to land!"

"Only one way to find out," said Raxtus, as he proceeded to walk onto an adjacent tile. However, upon stepping onto the green tile, nothing about it changed.

"It's okay, Skyfrost," said Kendra, "it seems to be safe to touch the green tiles."

"You can't go wrong with green, I always say," said Firesquall, as his twin soared down next to him, placing Seth down onto the floor.

"Man, that was scary!" exclaimed Seth, as he took a moment to catch his breath. "If it hadn't have been for you dragons and your ability to fly, I don't know what we'd have done."

"This kinda reminded me of that peg-jumping game Grandpa has," said Kendra. "Except there was no giant snake to chase you if you made a wrong move."

"What are we standing around here for?" asked Warren. "We've earned the right to progress to the next room. Let's move!"


	13. Monkey King

**Chapter 13: Monkey King**

The group proceeded to make their way towards the exit to the snake room, walking across the floor of glowing, green tiles.

"Man, that snake was a little too close for comfort," said Seth.

"You think _you_ got too close to something?" asked Warren. "Firesquall and I actually went _inside_ the _mouth_ of one of those stupid crocodiles!"

"Yeah, well _he_ messed with the wrong wyvern!" snapped Firesquall.

"We probably could've just used the Translocator to escape from it, now that I think about it," said Warren.

"It wouldn't have been the same for Seth if that snake had gotten him," said Kendra. "If that thing really a mamba, well they're highly venomous. Coupled with its size, it would've killed Seth immediately, unlike a crocodile."

"Not to mention it probably would've kept going after the rest of us too," said Ingrid.

"I just hope the next room isn't so horrible," said Bracken.

"As long it's not another stupid reptile," said Warren. "I'm starting to get fed up with them. Present company excepted."

"I don't blame you," said Geminus. "All of these Gargantuar monsters have been mean."

The group then passed through the exit, and was now standing before another stairway leading even further downwards.

"What do you suppose _is_ down there?" asked Kendra.

"Only one way to find out," replied Warren. "We've come this far. I'd hate to have to give up now."

The group then made their way down the stairs that stood before them, which were considerably longer than they initially appeared. By now, Kendra had long lost track as to just how deep they had traveled underground since initially entering the temple.

After a few minutes of walking, the group finally emerged at the bottom of the stairway. From what Kendra and Seth could gather, they had now entered what could best be described as a large, indoor jungle, filled with grass, towering trees, hanging vines and other flora. The walls of the room, all of which which were coated in vines and moss, extended so high, it was impossible to even make out the ceiling from the floor where they were currently standing.

At the far wall at the center of the room stood a stone tower. Square in shape, it seemed to extend up possibly as high as the ceiling room itself.

"Wow," said Ingrid. "What is this place?"

"Beats me," replied Raxtus. "But my intuition is telling me to check out that tower."

"Might as well," said Warren. "It's the only thing here of any significance."

The group trekked through the grassy floor of the room, which really wasn't much of a floor at all, just regular ground. Soon they reached the base of the tower. Looking up at the tower from the bottom seemed comparative to looking up at an exetremly tall skyscraper.

"What kind of tower is this?" asked Bracken. "There doesn't appear to be any doorway leading inside. Just a ramp leading upwards."

Built into the front of the tower was a ramp with a gradual rise that ran started at the bottom left side and ran up over to the right. Behind the top of it was a second ramp, similar to the first, that started at the right and rose up to the left. From there, a third ramp rose up to the right. Presumably, there was a continuous series of ramps leading all the way up to the top.

"Guess we're just supposed to climb to the top of this place," said Kendra.

"It sure is high," said Ingrid, looking up at the tower.

"How high can you get?" asked Warren.

"Climbing's for primates!" exclaimed Skyfrost. "We've got wings! Let's just do this the easy way!"

"Works for me," said Seth, as he climbed up onto Skyfrost's back. Having no real reason to argue against it, Kendra and Bracken climbed up onto Raxtus' back, while Ingrid got onto Geminus, and Warren onto Firesquall.

The dragons all extended their wings and proceeded to soar up into the air, rising alongside the tower. Although the room went up for quite a considerable distance, it didn't take very long until they could make out the vaulted, stone ceiling.

Skyfrost and Firesquall sped ahead of the others, until they had reached the top of the tower, where there was still a good one-hundred feet between it and the ceiling of the entire room.

Situated on the flat roof of the tower there appeared to be an enormous brown gorilla, who was curled up in a sleeping position.

"Whoa!" gasped Seth. "Look at the size of that gorilla! He's huge!"

"What's thing on his head?" asked Firesquall.

"It looks like a crown," replied Warren, as Raxtus, Geminus and their riders caught up with them.

"Thank goodness he's asleep," said Ingrid.

"What are we supposed to do with this big ape?" asked Seth.

"I dunno," said Kendra. "He may be blocking something important, for all we know."

"He's way too heavy for us to move," said Raxtus.

"I wouldn't want to make him mad," said Warren. "Maybe prod him a bit. Just enough to get his attention."

"I'll give him a little wake up call," said Skyfrost, as he began to inhale. He then unleashed a light blast of his icy breath upon the gorilla.

The gorilla suddenly opened his eyes and let out a loud squeal. He then stood up, revealing his impressive stature. Kendra noticed that the gorilla actually had slim build, as well as a tail. On top of that, the entire roof started to emit a brilliant red glow.

"That's no gorilla!" exclaimed Kendra. "That's a monkey!"

"A very big monkey, to say the least," said Ingrid.

"Whatever he is," said Seth, "he doesn't look very happy."

"Can you blame him?" asked Bracken.

The monkey reached down and picked up a large, stone block that had been sitting on the roof of the tower. Although the monkey was large enough to hold the block in one hand, the block was larger than any of the dragons.

Without giving any warning, the monkey held his arm back and tossed the block towards Seth and Skyfrost very abruptly. Skyfrost swerved out of the block's path, him and Seth nearly getting sacked by it.

"SETH!" exclaimed Ingrid. "Skyfrost! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," replied Seth. "But that monkey's got some arm!"

"Hey, at least there's not more where that came from," said Warren.

A moment later, another block, identical in size to the first, magically appeared in the monkey's hand. He then proceeded to lob it in Firesquall and Warren's direction.

"Hey, that's no fair!" snapped Firesquall, as he dodged the block. "Where'd that block come from?

Before anyone could think of a response, a third block appeared in the monkey's hand, which he threw towards Firesquall, narrowly missing him.

"Did he just...?" asked Seth.

"Oh, it's on!" shouted Warren, as the monkey tossed another stone in his direction. "Firesquall, Skyfrost! Attack!"

Nodding in response, both Skyfrost and Firesquall accepted Warren's command to simultaneously assault the monkey with their ice and fire breaths. Although they made direct contact with the monkey, it appeared to not be affected by either of them. Instead, it proceeded to toss another block towards the group, as though it wasn't even being attacked.

"It's no good!" exclaimed Raxtus. "That thing is invincible!"

"How do we stop it, then?" asked Geminus, as another block was hurled from the monkey, this time in her direction.

"My first inclination would be to get that monkey down from the tower, but I don't see how that'll do much if he's invincible," said Warren.

"Maybe it has something to do with the roof of the tower," said Kendra. "I mean, it's _glowing_ red!"

"If only we had a way to lure that monkey off," said Bracken.

"Conjure up a ten-foot banana," said Seth. "Maybe that'll do it."

"Why, so he can eat it and benefit from the potassium?" asked Kendra.

Seth rolled his eyes. "No... he can... slip on the peel and fall off..."

"Seth, can't you think of something that's actually _useful_?" asked Ingrid, as another block flew her way.

"Yeah," said Kendra. "This is no time for monkey business."

"I've got an idea," said Seth. "Skyfrost, fly down to the monkey's feet."

"You sure?" asked Skyfrost.

"Just do it!"

Having faith in Seth, the blue wyvern flew down onto the glowing roof of the tower, landing in front of the monkey. Seth and Skyfrost looked up at the monkey, who was now towering over them.

"Now what?" asked Skyfrost, as the monkey glared down at both him and Seth.

"Wait for it," said Seth, as the monkey held back its arm, readying to throw the block it was holding down at him and Skyfrost. "I want him to toss the stone. Right when he does that, fly away so that it hits his foot."

However, the monkey did not toss the stone at them, as Seth had hoped. Instead, it tossed the stone towards Raxtus, nearly hitting him.

"Maybe you should give him cold feet," said Seth, expecting another block to appear in the monkey's hand.

Instead of another block appearing in the monkey's hand, as Seth had been anticipating, the monkey instead began jumping up and down, his feet nearly coming down on Skyfrost.

"Yikes!" muttered Skyfrost, as he backed away from the bouncing monkey.

"Quick, freeze the roof!" blurted Seth. "Maybe he'll slip!"

Skyfrost attempted to blast a section of the glowing roof with his breath, but the ice seemingly vanished.

"It's not working!" exclaimed Skyfrost, as he flew off the roof. "This roof is enchanted! It's cancelling out my ice power!"

"Seth, you guys could've been killed!" exclaimed Kendra, as the monkey went back to tossing another block in Seth and Skyfrost's direction.

"He's pretty cranky now," said Warren.

"Maybe attacks won't work," said Seth. "But what about actual magic? Bracken... do something!"

"Like what?" asked the unicorn. "This'll exhaust a lot of my power if I can even get it to work!"

"I dunno! Shrink him! Turn him into something! Anything!"

"Okay," said Bracken hesitantly, as he extended his hand and shot a blast of rainbow-colored energy at the monkey. The magic bounced off the monkey's body, and bolted directly at Seth, almost as though the monkey had some degree of control over it.

Suddenly, Seth began to feel funny. He could feel himself starting to shrink, while brown fur sprouted up all over his body.

"Seth, what's happening?" asked Skyfrost.

"Bracken!" cried Ingrid. "You turned Seth into a monkey!"

Indeed, Skyfrost was now sporting a normal-sized monkey on his back in lieu of Seth. The monkey was clinging on to Skyfrost's backside, unable to speak for himself.

"Bracken, turn him back!" exclaimed Warren.

"You don't have to tell me twice," said Bracken, as he shot a blast of magic directly towards Seth. However, it seemingly had no affect on him. "Didn't work! My magic's been funny in this place!"

"Watch it, Bracken!" exclaimed Skyfrost. "What if that magic hit _me_?"

"Bracken, you already made a monkey out of Seth," said Warren. "Take it easy!"

"Somebody do something!" exclaimed Ingrid. "That monkey is still throwing blocks at us!"

"He's too powerful," exclaimed Firesquall. "How are we supposed to deal with Monkey King over there?"

"Not to mention Monkey King Jr.!" chimed in Skyfrost, as Seth crawled around on his head.

"Well, straight on attacks aren't working," said Raxtus. "I could turn invisible and get the drop on him, but that won't help! This monkey deflects _everything_!"

"We just need to get him off of the tower," said Bracken. "The question is, how?"

Kendra studied the tower. Although it was very tall, the general shape reminded her of something. Of course! It all came back to her!

"That tower," said Kendra. "It kinda reminds me of Jenga!"

"Something tells me that this tower has better engineering than some wobbling set of wooden toy blocks," said Warren.

"Well, only the roof is glowing. If we could somehow remove lower sections of the tower, perhaps it would all come tumbling down."

"How do you propose we do that?" asked Ingrid, as she and Geminus dodged another block. "We don't exactly have that kind of strength."

"Maybe we don't," said Kendra, "but Monkey King over there might."

"What good will that do?" asked Raxtus. "He seems pretty content at the top. Doesn't look like he's ready to climb down just so that he can destroy his own tower."

"I'd use the Emerock," said Kendra, "but it didn't work in the previous room. So it wouldn't surprise me if it didn't work in here either."

Kendra then held up the Emerock and attempted to seize control of a block that the monkey hurled, as well as an upper section of the tower. No dice.

"That guy's never gonna run out of blocks!" said Ingrid, as the Monkey King continued throwing blocks.

The monkey tossed another block directly at Geminus, who screamed in horror. Unable to gain the momentum to fly out of the block's path, Geminus opted to conjure up a pink force field around herself and Ingrid. Upon hitting the force field, the block ricocheted off and flew to the side.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Warren. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," replied Ingrid. "But that was cutting it close, Geminus!"

"Did you see how _fast_ that block went flying?" asked Kendra. "You wouldn't be able to direct it back at the monkey, would you, Geminus?"

"I could, if I got the angle right," replied Geminus.

"Let's fly down a bit," said Warren, prompting both Firesquall and Skyfrost to fly down a bit.

Kendra then slipped on the invisibility gloves, while Raxtus vanished under his own power, and Bracken disappeared. Right now, Geminus and Ingrid were the only ones on the Monkey King's radar.

Still outraged, the Monkey King tossed another block at Geminus. It too ricocheted off of her force field, and went flying directly at the monkey. However, the monkey didn't so much as flinch. Instead, it reached down to pick up the block that had landed by his feet.

"It was a good idea..." said Geminus.

"I've got another plan," said Kendra. "The next time he throws, try to deflect the block down at the tower. See if it does anything!"

The Monkey King proceeded to toss the same block at Geminus. This time, the block bounced off of her body and went flying into the front wall of the tower, roughly twenty feet below the roof. The block made a loud thud, before falling down to the ground, leaving a rectangular indentation in the wall of the tower.

"That did it!" said Raxtus.

"Geminus, keep it up!"

Geminus remained floating in the same spot, allowing the monkey to toss several more blocks at her in succession. Each one subsequently bounced off of Geminus and into the tower, causing a crack in the wall to grow larger and larger.

After close to twenty blocks had gone flying into the wall, the top-most section of the tower started to crumble. Soon, an avalanche of bricks and stones began pouring down from the top of the tower. Caught in the middle of all the action, the Monkey King squealed as he struggled to keep his balance on the collapsing roof of the tower.

"Skyfrost," said Warren, "give him the slip!"

Skyfrost exerted a blast of ice at the slope of debris that had formed at the topmost part of the tower, beneath the Monkey King's feet. Unable to keep his balance, the Monkey King went sliding off of the tower and plummeted all the way down to the ground, yelping the entire way.

"Come on!" said Warren, as the dragons all flew down to the ground at the bottom of the vast chamber.

Before long, Raxtus came down for a landing, where the enormous Monkey King was lying in the center of the room. The Monkey King did not appear to be moving.

"Careful," said Kendra, as Warren walked up towards one of the monkey's paws.

Warren placed his hands up against the paw off the monkey, which was large enough to grab his entire body. The monkey remained motionless.

"No pulse," said Warren. "He's dead."

"Dead?" asked Ingrid.

"He fell off and broke his head."

Kendra proceeded to remove her gloves, regaining her visibility, along with Raxtus. Bracken then appeared by her side.

"Well, the Monkey King isn't a problem anymore," said Bracken. "But, where do we go from here?"

"You think there's anything at the top of the tower?" asked Firesquall.

"If there is," replied Warren, "we've got a bit of digging to do."

Ingrid proceeded to walk over to the Monkey King's crown, which had now fallen off of his head and rolled over to the side.

"Cool," said Ingrid, as she looked inside the bottom of the crown.

"Uh, you guys..." said Skyfrost.

"What is that?" asked Ingrid, as she crawled inside the crown.

"Is that even safe?" asked Kendra.

"Only if the Monkey King had giant-sized head lice," replied Warren.

"You guys!" cried Skyfrost.

"Check this out!" exclaimed Ingrid, her voice echoing from inside of the crown.

"What is it?" asked Geminus.

Ingrid crawled out of the crown, holding in her hand what appeared to be one of the relics, only this one housed a white gem. The Diavolt!

"Way to go!" exclaimed Warren. "You found the Diavolt, Ingrid!"

"YOU GUYS!" roared Skyfrost, as he exerted a blast of ice directly in front of the group.

"What is it?" snapped Firesquall.

Skyfrost held up Seth, still a monkey, by his tail. "Would you all stop monkeying around for a moment? Seth needs your help!"


	14. A Shocking Discovery

**Chapter 14: A Shocking Discovery**

Warren proceeded to twist the Translocator, then held it out in such a way so that everyone was able to make contact with it.

"You too, squirmy," said Skyfrost, as he attempted to hold Seth against the Translocator. However, seeing as how he was presently a hyperactive monkey, getting Seth to cooperate was easier said than done.

Eventually, Skyfrost had managed to gently press Seth's furry arm against the Translocator. With every member of the group now making contact with the device, Warren twisted the artifact, instantly transporting all of them back to the yard at Fablehaven.

"Great," said Bracken, as everyone released their touch on the Translocator, "we're back. Hopefully my magic is working properly again."

"Give it a shot," said Skyfrost, as Seth scrambled in his attempt to get out of the wyvern's grasp.

Bracken proceeded to exert a small blast of magical energy at Seth. Almost instantly, the monkey magically transformed back into a human, still in the grasp of Skyfrost's claw.

"Hey!" exclaimed Seth, who felt as though he had just woken up from a daze. "What's going on? How'd we get back here?"

"We'll tell you in a minute," said Ingrid, trying to suppress a smile.

"At least show him the pièce de ré·sis·tance," said Warren.

Ingrid held up the Diavolt in her hand, displaying it for Seth to see.

"Awesome!" said Seth, as his eyes lit up in delight. "Man, how'd I end up missing _that_?"

"Come on," said Kendra. "Let's go back inside and tell the others the good news!"

"But what about me?" asked Seth. "Aren't you going to explain what happened to me... to me?"

"Ehh... you'll find out soon enough," replied Bracken.

"Are you dragons all okay?" asked Warren.

"We'll be fine," said Geminus, as she and the other dragons all nodded accordingly. "I think we just need a good, long rest."

"Like Vanessa," said Firesquall. "She's probably napping in the lair. Let's go check on her."

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Raxtus, as he and the other dragons flew off towards their lair.

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid, Warren and Bracken all made their way back towards the front door of the house and made their way inside.

"We're back!" shouted Warren, as the group all piled into the foyer.

"You're back?" exclaimed Grandma from the other room. "Great! You know what? Why don't you all freshen up, and then we'll get to discussing the current situation."

The group took turns using the various bathrooms within the house to wash themselves up. Next, they all changed into fresh clothes, before sitting down in the living room, where the rest of the family was already seated.

"Okay then," said Grandpa, looking around at everyone in the room. "How was your journey to Gargantuar? Were you successful in your mission?"

"Gargantuar was incredible!" exclaimed Ingrid. "Everything there was enormous! It got pretty intense, though."

"Still pretty amazing how everything was so huge there," said Kendra.

"All those huge jungle creatures!" said Seth. "And then there was the temple..."

"Please," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Tell us your story, from start to finish."

The group went on to explain how they first arrived in Gargantuar, then continued to relay their adventure in progressive order, including their run-in with the panther, their discovery of the temple, the crocodile room and the room with the snake.

Soon they had begun talking about the room with the Monkey King. Seth too was eager to hear about what had happened in this room, for it was where he remembered suddenly passing out, before later coming to back at Fablehaven.

"This Monkey King, he was unstoppable!" exclaimed Warren. "Skyfrost and Firesquall tried, but their attacks just weren't cutting it!"

"Seth suggested I try using my magic against the Monkey King," said Bracken. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to unleash my power towards it. But the Monkey King deflected my power at Seth, who kinda... turned into a monkey."

"I... what?" asked Seth, as the adults in the room all opened their mouths in awe.

"I couldn't change him back!" continued Bracken. "I tried. But my magic didn't work properly in Gargantuar for some reason."

Seth noticed that Ingrid was trying her hardest not to laugh, as she concealed her mouth behind her hand.

"Ingrid, be nice," said Kendra.

"Even if it _was_ kinda funny," chimed in Warren.

The group went to explain how Kendra had figured out to get Geminus to deflect the Monkey King's attacks back at the tower, causing it to collapse, taking the royal ape down with it.

"And what about the Diavolt?" asked Seth. "How exactly did you find that once the top of the tower came down?"

"That was in the Monkey King's crown," replied Bracken. "But, credit goes to Ingrid for that. She's the one who climbed into the crown and found it."

"May we see it?" asked Grandpa.

Ingrid proceeded to hold up the Diavolt, so that everyone could see it.

"Amazing," said Grandpa. "It's just what we envisioned that it would look like."

"I wonder," said Grandma. "Does it actually work?"

Warren winced. "Well, we actually just got back from claiming it. We haven't exactly had a chance to test it out, let alone examine it."

"I'm the only one who's even so much as touched it," said Ingrid. "No idea if it needs charging or anything."

"At the very least, we should test it out," said Bracken. "But, I think you'll comply when I say that the inside of your living room is not an ideal testing ground for the Diavolt."

"My sentiments exactly," said Grandma. "Besides, I just vacuumed the place. Let's go outside."

The entire family got up from their seats and made their way into the yard.

"First thing's first," said Bracken. "As with the other relics, we need to ensure that the Diavolt has been charged. Now, while I presumably possess the necessary power... Kendra, would you do the honors?"

"Okay," said Kendra, "I just hope I don't somehow get zapped by the Diavolt accidentally by touching it."

"I would certainly hope not," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Although none of the other relics have ever gone off uncontrollably. Have they?"

"There was the Pyruby, but this seems different," said Seth.

Ingrid held out the Diavolt, with the studded side of the relic facing outwards. Kendra then held out her hand and placed her fingertips against the surface of the white gem. Just as soon as she made contact, Kendra could feel magical energy surging through her hand and into the Diavolt.

"I think that did it," said Kendra, as she removed her hand from the Diavolt.

"I can feel the energy flowing within," said Ingrid, as she examined the relic in her hands.

"Can I try it?" asked Seth. "I'm experienced with the Pyruby, and that thing's untested! It could be dangerous!"

"Seth, I'm not a little kid," said Ingrid. "If the other relics are anything to go by, I think I have a pretty good understanding of how this one ought to work."

Ingrid held the Diavolt skywards. Clenching it firmly in her hands, a bolt of electricity shot out of the relic, rising up into sky a considerable distance, until it had gone out of sight.

"Cool," said Warren, as Ingrid shot another bolt of energy out of the relic.

"This is amazing!" said Kendra. "We finally have the final relic! And it wasn't any trouble like the Pyruby was. Now all we need to do is get the Necromaster..."

"And just how do you propose we do t _hat_?" asked Seth. "What happens if we get caught while we're snooping around Murdred's castle? We don't know exactly where he keeps the Necromaster hidden."

"If Murdred catches us, he'll kill us!" exclaimed Ingrid. "And he doesn't need the Necromaster to do that."

"But we've still got to help the Singing Sisters," stated Seth. "If we get spotted, we can always escape through a portal."

"Escape might not be an option," said Bracken. "Especially if our enemy gets the drop on us before I can get a portal open."

"The only reason Murdred would even want to see us again, is so that we bring him the Diavolt and the Pyruby," said Seth. "If we do in fact get caught, Murdred might make us fork over both of those relics, if not more."

"That's just swell," said Kendra. "If we even make it out alive, that'll be _three_ relics we'll need to get back from Murdred."

Grandpa then proceeded to clear his throat. "Actually, while you were all on your mission in Gargantuar, I came up with a little scheme of my own."

"Your own scheme?" asked Ingrid. "What are you talking about?"

"You Knights already have experience with this sort of trickery," said Grandpa. "I believe a well-known term for this sort of thing would be considered _the old_ _switcheroo_."

"Switcheroo?" asked Warren. "What do you mean? What are we supposed to be switching around?"

Grandpa smiled, then revealed a small, purple sack that he had been holding. He then emptied the contents of the sack into his other hand. Kendra and Seth couldn't believe what they were seeing! Sitting on the palm of Grandpa's hand were what appeared to be the Pyruby and the Diavolt.

"No way!" exclaimed Seth. "But... how?"

"Relax," said Grandpa. "These are just proxies. I was reminded of the time when your group traveled to Washington to retrieve that second invisibility glove. Stealing the real glove from the museum, you in turn left a non-magical decoy on display, and the museum was none the wiser."

"So, you're saying we should just give these fake relics to Murdred, instead of the real ones?" asked Ingrid.

"It kind of makes going after the real Diavolt seem pretty redundant, doesn't it?" asked Seth.

"Not exactly" said Grandpa. "These fake relics are just decoys, so you can surrender them to Murdred if you're left with no alternative. Wouldn't want you to actually put all of your cards out on the table."

"Excuse me," said Kendra. "But where exactly did you get these fake relics? I mean, fake or not, they still _look_ pretty genuine."

"Ah yes," said Grandpa. "I enlisted the help of Bright and Clover to conjure up those fake relics. Although they were still too busy with their obligations elsewhere to aid you on your journey, they were more than happy to produce the fake relics, as they wanted to help you in any way they could, even if they had to remain on duty."

"Those two are the best," said Warren with a smile. "Even when they can't be with us."

"Okay," said Seth. "Say we give these fake relics to Murdred. Isn't he going to notice that they're just that? Fakes?"

"Regrettably. The fake relics will not buy you much time, as Murdred is likely to figure out the truth before long. Still, your next primary objective will be to seize the Necromaster, get it working with the other four relics, and kill Murdred."

"What about the Singing Sisters?" asked Kendra.

"As much as they need rescuing, it's even more pivotal that Murdred be eliminated first," replied Grandpa. "If Murdred is keeping tabs on the sisters, and discovers that they're missing, who do you think he's going to blame for it?"

"I think we get it," said Warren. "But, we're still pressed with the issue of finding the Necromaster. Even if Murdred reveals it to us, which he probably won't, how are we going to get a hold of it?"

Grandpa shook his head. "I honestly have no idea."

Grandma held up her hand. "Let's change the subject for the time being. "Now, you knights must be hungry after such an arduous quest in Gargantuar."

"I sure am," said Kendra, as she placed a hand up against her grumbling stomach. "All this commotion made me forget how hungry I actually got!"

"Then it's settled," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Grandma and I will make prepare a delicious lunch for all of you."

"Well, those were some pretty big animals," said Warren. "How about we have a pretty big meal to compensate for them?"

"We'll see," said Grandma, as the family then head back inside, where the adults set to work in preparing a lunch in the kitchen.

Seth proceeded to head upstairs, where he made his way into his bedroom, shut the door and laid down on his bed. He was feeling completely frazzled after the whole excursion in Gargantuar, and just needed some time to himself to flake out.

Looking back, Seth wondered if he had even been an asset in any way whatsoever during their previous adventure. Even though he was the one who had been provided with the directions to Gargantuar, it was the Singing Sisters who provided him with them.

He didn't really help the group locate Gargantuar once they had set out on their journey. Nor did he help defeat the panther. He was not the one who found the great temple. Getting past the crocodiles hadn't been idea, and it was he who had become a moving target in the snake room, which he also failed to properly solve. And to top it all off, he not only failed to provide any real help against the Monkey King, but got turned into a helpless monkey himself.

Eventually, Seth found his train of thought being derailed by somebody knocking on his door.

"Seth," said Ingrid through the other side of the door. "Come on down for lunch already! Mom's been calling you."

Seth sighed. Although he had heard several calls for lunch while he lay in bed, Seth didn't find himself feeling motivated enough to get up and come downstairs.

"Seth, come on," said Ingrid, as she opened up his door and walked over to his bed. "Don't you want lunch? I know I'm getting hungry."

"If you're so hungry, go down and eat," said Seth.

"Don't you want to join us?"

"I'm not really that hungry."

Ingrid sighed. "I get the impression that you're not telling the whole truth to me. Now tell me, what's the matter?"

Seth let out a sigh. "This whole mess is my problem! _I_ was the one who agreed to find the Diavolt for the Singing Sisters! Yet on our adventure, I didn't contribute to the team in any way the entire time! Some help I was."

" _That's_ what's bothering you?" asked Ingrid. "So what? I don't care about _that_. Regardless of what transpired in Gargantuar, we still came out with the Diavolt in the end."

"I know... but I... just wanted to prove myself. Normally I'm better than that. But everyone else, it felt like they did something. But I was of no help whatsoever."

"Seth, this isn't a competition between us. It's a group effort. It just wasn't your day. Don't take it so personally."

Seth winced. It's not just that... I tried to help. And what do I get for it? I got turned into a monkey. That's what."

"Oh, that wasn't your fault. Come on."

"It still happened. That in and of itself is bad enough."

"Seth, I've heard all about the time you got turned into a mutant walrus one too many times. And then there was the time you got turned into a donkey..."

"This is way different!" blurted Seth.

"Why?"

"Because... you were there."

"Your point?" asked Ingrid.

"Well, having it happen, and not realizing what went on until after it was over... It was embarrassing! I bet everyone thought it was really funny, seeing me transformed into a monkey! A monkey, Ingrid! Like an organ grinder's pet, or Curious George! I bet it was pretty hilarious, wasn't it?"

"It came as more of a shock to us, if you want the truth."

"Shock or not, I bet you still thought it was funny."

Ingrid held up her hands. "You know what, Seth? You're right. You turning into a monkey _was_ kind of funny! The shock of it happening more than anything. But so what? What happened... happened. It's old news by now!"

"You're not going to ask me if I want a banana?" asked Seth.

Ingrid shook her head. "Seth, as easy as that would be, I don't want to do that."

"You don't? Really?"

"No way. You're my brother. I care about you."

"What about Kendra? I can imagine _her_ wanting to rub the incident in my face."

"Why would she do that?" asked Ingrid. "Kendra's always been so kind."

Seth rolled his eyes. "You didn't grow up with Kendra the way I did. We were constantly at each other's throats. If _she_ had been turned into a monkey, I probably would've gotten a lot of mileage out of it."

"You'd really tease your own sister over that so mercilessly? Why?"

"Well, sometimes we don't always get along. But so what? Siblings fight all the time."

Ingrid shook her head. "I wish you wouldn't. You and Kendra are lucky to even have each other. I never had siblings before you two came along. I would've loved to have had a sibling in my original family, but that never came to be. I'm grateful to be a part of your family, and I'm grateful to have two loving siblings. I understand that siblings don't always get along, and teasing comes up all the time, but is that any reason to _fight_ with each other over every little thing?"

"Wow," said Seth. "I never thought of it that way."

"Look, I know you envy Kendra because she's fairykind and you're a shadow charmer. But, shadow charmer or not, you have an wonderful heart. Just treat others the way you'd want them to treat you. If you don't want Kendra bickering at you so much, maybe don't push her buttons."

"I get it," said Seth. "I understand what you're saying."

"You feeling better?" asked Ingrid, as she held out the Diavolt. "If nothing else, we've got this now. Along with a plan."

"I know. Let's go down for lunch already."

"I think Grandma made us sandwiches," said Ingrid. "Do you like peanut butter and banana?"

"Yeah, it's okay... Bananas? Really?"

Ingrid laughed. "It was just a joke!"


	15. Lava Lake

**Chapter 15: Lava Lake**

After eating lunch, the group all washed up, assembled their gear, then gathered together outside on the back porch of the house.

"Do we really have to be going back to the Demon Domain so suddenly?" asked Seth. "I mean, Murdred gave me an entire week to locate the Diavolt, and we managed to find it in less than a day!"

"Stan really wants to get this whole thing over and done with," said Warren. "And I agree with him. Besides, he probably isn't expecting you to return so suddenly. It might even give us an opportunity to search for the Necromaster, provided we don't get caught."

"I'm getting really nervous," said Ingrid. "I don't know what's going to happen from this point. Are we really going to be able to defeat Murdred now?"

"This whole thing could unfold in a number of different ways," replied Bracken. "One, which would be the most beneficial, would be that we make it to Murdred's castle, sneak inside, find the Necromaster, get it working, and kill Murdred."

"But that's the thing," said Kendra. "What if we can't find the Necromaster?"

"Well, we'll keep trying," replied Warren. "Although if we're not successful, I'm not sure what we'll do once the week is up. Those fake relics wouldn't fool a fool."

"What if something happens to us in the Demon Domain?" asked Ingrid.

"Going there has always been a risk," replied Bracken. "It's just going to be another chance we have to take."

At that point, Dale walked up to the group, cradling Vanessa in his arms. Behind him were the other members of the dragon family.

"Dale just briefed us about what we're about to face," said Raxtus. "We're all ready to set out."

"Great," said Warren, as he walked over to Firesquall and climbed up onto the wyvern's back.

"Please be careful," said Dale. "That Necromaster... it sounds really dangerous."

"We'll do everything we can," said Geminus, as Ingrid climbed up onto her back.

"This might finally be it," said Skyfrost, as Seth seated himself atop his back. "This might finally be the time we finish off Murdred for good."

"Seth, do you have the fake relics on you?" asked Warren.

"Right here in this bag," replied Seth, as he jiggled around the silk bag that contained the two fake relics in his hand.

"And I've got the real Pyruby for now," said Warren. "Just so that Murdred doesn't accidentally discover it. I'll give it back to you if you need it."

"I'm stoked," said Firesquall. "Come on, Bracken! Open the portal!"

"If everybody's ready," said Bracken. He then proceeded to circle his hand around, causing a portal to manifest in the air before him.

"We'll be back, Dale," said Seth, sounding somewhat doubtful.

"Good luck, you guys," said Dale, as he waved at the group. Vanessa also gave a wave.

Bracken proceeded to step through the portal, prompting the dragons and their riders to all follow along behind him.

The group then emerged on the other side of the portal somewhere in the Demon Domain. Once everyone had stepped through, Bracken used his power to close the portal.

As soon as they got their bearings, Kendra and Seth noticed that the dragons and Bracken were standing in what appeared to be a field of mud.

"Eww," said Bracken, as he lifted up one of his booted feet, which had mud clinging to the heel of it.

"Hey, some of us don't even have footwear," said Skyfrost, as he raised a muddy talon.

"What kind of place is this?" asked Ingrid.

"Looks like some sort of quagmire," answered Warren. "Only, there's barely any plants, save for a few scarce, malnourished specimen.

"No need for us to keep standing in it," said Geminus, as she flapped her wings and rose several feet up into the air.

"Good idea," said Firesquall, as he and Skyfrost rose up after Geminus.

"Warren, you mind rinsing off this mud before I go away?" asked Bracken.

"Not at all," replied Warren. "Help him up, Raxtus."

Raxtus grasped his arms around Bracken and then lifted him up into the air as well. Now that everyone was above the ground, Warren pulled out the Sapphazure, which he used to soak Bracken's boots, washing away the mud that was on them.

"Thanks," said Bracken. "The less power I waste, the better. I'll be here if you need me."

Bracken suddenly vanished, while Warren used the power of the Sapphazure to rinse off Raxtus, Geminus and Skyfrost's talons.

"Here, Seth," said Warren, as he tossed the Sapphazure over to Seth, "mind doing Firesquall for me?"

"Not a problem," said Seth, as he exerted water from the Sapphazure at Firesquall's talons, effectively washing off the mud.

"Much better," said Firesquall, as Seth tossed the Sapphazure back to Warren.

"Well then," said Ingrid, "where do we go from here?"

"Beats me," replied Geminus.

"Have no fear, Seth is here," said Seth boastfully. "All we need to do is locate a monster, and I'll just get it to tell us where the castle is, like I always do."

"Of course," said Kendra. "You weren't with us last time, so that wasn't an option."

"Would've made things a lot easier for us is Seth wasn't the one Murdred wanted," said Raxtus.

"You think there'd be a monster somewhere in all this mud," said Skyfrost.

"If there is, he sure wasn't interested in us while you were all standing around," said Kendra.

"We might as well just start exploring. Hopefully we'll run into something soon," said Raxtus.

The dragons proceeded to fly off into the distance, passing over much of the Demon Domain's rugged terrain. Before too long, they spotted a figure crawling around on the ground below. Figuring that they had found an appropriate target, the dragons all soared down towards the creature.

Larger than any of the dragons who had landed before it, the creature, which could best be described as reptilian, was by no means enormous, but still managed to dwarf the dragons considerably. The purple creature bore four hooved legs, as well as a pair of monstrous arms, each of which had a massive, scythe-like claw protruding from the knuckles.

"Who are you?" hissed the creature, in a raspy, although somewhat feminine voice that only Seth was able to interpret.

"What'd it say?" asked Ingrid, as she pulled the Diavolt from her bag.

"I'll handle this thing," said Seth.

"I don't know what you all are," growled the creature, "but some of you reek! Reek of light energy! I ought to maim you where you stand!"

"Oh no you don't!" blurted Seth, as the creature flexed her claws back, preparing to lash them forward at the group. Concentrating firmly, Seth focused all of his dark vibes upon the creature, causing its body to suddenly freeze on the spot.

"How may I serve you?" asked the creature, now speaking in a monotonous voice.

"Murdred's castle," said Seth, narrowing his brow, "Where is it?"

"Over there," replied the creature, pointing off in one direction with her claw.

"Good," said Seth, "now leave us alone."

"As you wish," said the creature, as she turned her back to the group.

"Got it," said Skyfrost. "We fly that way."

"Okay," said Kendra. "Now, let's get out of here before that... _thing_ changes its mind."

The dragons took off once again, this time flying in the direction that the monster had pointed towards.

"You suppose that creature was telling the truth?" asked Raxtus, as the entire group eyed the land down below.

"She better have," replied Seth. "I was able to get her to respond to my question, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she had to be truthful with her response."

"I really wish we had a map of this place," said Firesquall. "Even with our sense of direction, the Demon Domain feels like it has no real direction."

"What do you mean?" asked Warren.

"I can't explain it. It's just that I can't sense my way around here like I do back in our world."

"Ditto," said Skyfrost.

"Well, we might as well go with what that monster told us," said Geminus. "As far as I'm concerned, bad directions can't be any worse than no directions at all."

After flying for several more minutes, a very large body of lava suddenly appeared on the horizon.

"What's with all that lava?" asked Kendra.

"I don't know," said Warren. "But there's a lot of it. I propose that we land now."

"I'm with you," said Skyfrost, as he dove down towards the ground, followed by the other dragons.

The dragons landed near the edge of a clifftop overlooking the lava. Now that they were on solid ground, they could see just how vast the lava pool truly was. From where they were standing, there was roughly a thirty foot drop between the ground and the surface of the lava.

"There's so much lava!" exclaimed Kendra. "I can't even see where it ends! It's like a lake of lava!"

"So much for Murdred's castle," said Warren. "This place seems like land's end of the Demon Domain."

"Shouldn't we just continue onwards?" asked Firesquall.

"I dunno," said Seth. "On all our previous ventures into the Demon Domain, not once did we have to cross a lake of lava that was this big."

Kendra looked around at the cliff side. It appeared to extend for a considerable distance, but seemed to gradually curve forward roughly half a mile away. She then turned and looked in the other direction. There too the cliff side curved forward at at roughly the same length.

"There's something funny about all this lava," said Kendra. "This lake might have borders all around... I wonder... Skyfrost, Firesquall, you two have the best vision out of all of us. Can you see anything out in the very center of the lava?"

"Very center?" asked Skyfrost. "Ehh, we'll check."

The two wyverns gazed out across the lava, using their enhanced eyesight to to examine the lake of lava.

"I see something!" exclaimed Firesquall. "It's in front of all those mountains!"

"Me too!" said Skyfrost. "There's definitely a large structure out there!"

"It might actually be Murdred's castle!" said Warren, who was looking through a pair of binoculars.

"No way," said Seth. "If you can see Murdred's castle... and this cliff is actually a border..."

"Then this lava lake..." continued Kendra, "you don't suppose it's actually the moat around Murdred's castle?"

"But can this really be the moat?" asked Ingrid. "I mean, sure it wasn't huge before, but it was nothing at all like this! It wasn't miles wide!"

"If this is the moat, it looks like Murdred did some serious renovating since we were last here," said Warren.

"He must not want anyone bothering him," said Raxtus.

"Then that secret passage Malfunk showed us," said Seth. "It must be gone now!"

"So _that's_ why it was filled with lava when we tried to get out through it!" exclaimed Ingrid. "The passage was flooded when the moat was expanded."

"That's not good," said Geminus. "If that passage is no longer around, how's anyone supposed to get in there? Assuming they can't fly, anyway."

"Maybe there's a bridge on the other side of the moat," said Seth. "It's possible we're facing the back of the castle. At this distance, it's hard to tell."

"Will flying even help?" asked Kendra. "Last time we were here, Helwic set up a barrier around the castle. It might still be protecting the place."

"We've gotta find out one way or another," said Warren. "I think I'd better scope the castle out with Firesquall. I know it looks dangerous, but it needs to be done."

With Warren still seated on his back, Firesquall extended his wings and flew up into the air. The wyvern proceeded to fly off the cliff and was now soaring over the lava.

Without warning, a massive figure with a scaly, grey body rose out of the lava. It was vaguely humanoid in appearance, almost reminding Kendra of Hugo to some extent. The figure let out a tremendous roar, stopping Firesquall in mid-flight. It then proceeded to try slamming its huge arms at Firesquall, but the swift wyvern evaded them.

"Oh my gosh, what is that thing?" screamed Ingrid.

"How should I know?" muttered Raxtus, as a large, crab-like creature with a yellow shell, jumped out of the water, trying to snatch onto Firesquall with its pincer, barely missing him.

Firesquall flew back towards the cliff, narrowly evading the two monsters as he came crashing down for a landing.

"Warren, Firesquall!" said Kendra. "Are you two okay?"

"Never better," replied Firesquall wearily, as he allowed his head to drop downwards.

"This is the crocodile room all over again," said Warren.

"Stupid things," said Ingrid, looking out at the two monsters who were now biding their time on the surface of the lava. "Take this!"

Ingrid whipped out the Diavolt and exerted a bolt of lightning at the larger, scaly monster. However, the beast simply remained perfectly still as electricity surged through its body.

"It's not working!" cried Seth, as Ingrid shifted her focus of the Diavolt's electricity to the other monster.

"But why not?" asked Skyfrost.

"Perhaps they're able to use the lava as some sort of ground," said Kendra. "After all, lava is just molten rock. That's it!"

Kendra then removed the Emerock from her bag. Holding the relic forward in her hand, she focused on the lava that was surrounding the two monsters. Kendra used the power of the Emerock to shake around the lava, but the monsters did not react to it.

"Careful, Kendra," said Raxtus. "If those things _live_ in lava, then what you're doing is the equivalent of trying to bother sharks by creating waves."

The larger monster then lowered his claw into the lava. Before anyone could react, it hurled a large glob of lava towards the group. The dragons all vaulted away from the lava ball with their riders on their backs before it could hit any of them them.

"You stupid thing," snarled Skyfrost, "take this!"

Skyfrost took in a deep breath, then shot out a large chunk of ice from his mouth towards the monster. However, as the ice neared the lava, it melted into water, which in turned evaporated into steam before it could even get close to the monster.

"It's no good, Skyfrost," said Seth, "the lava's just too hot."

"I could just turn invisible and fly across," said Raxtus.

"That won't help the rest of us," said Geminus. "Especially since we can't use the Translocator here, and the rest of us dragons can't turn invisible."

"Lot of good this stupid moat is doing us," said Seth. "How does Murdred even expect me to bring him the relics, real ones pr not, if it's impossible to reach his castle?"

"Doesn't seem very easy to get in touch with this guy," said Raxtus. "He lives in a fortified castle surrounded by an infested lava moat."

"You can't call him," said Warren. "You can't send him a text or an email. Or even snail mail! It's like dealing with the DMV!"

"This is just great," said Seth reluctantly. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, maybe we should just go home, wait until the week is up and see what happens," said Ingrid. "Just keep the fake relics with you at all times. That way, if Murdred or his subordinates show up, you can just hand them the fakes."

"They're gonna know that they're fake," said Seth. "And we can't afford to part with the real ones. "Maybe I _should_ just return to Fablehaven. Just live and work there full time. Like Grandpa, Grandma and Dale. It's not so bad."

"Seth, you and I will go," said Raxtus. "You can just wear the gloves. Bracken can come too."

"I understand," said Seth, as he looked at the rest of his allies. "It's just that... I'd feel better having the others coming along."

"Seth," said Kendra. "I understand how you must feel. But now isn't the time for technicali-

Suddenly, Murdred, Helwic, Xipp, Xeero and Xillch magically appeared several feet in front of the group.

"M-M-M-Murdred!" gasped Kendra, who could feel her heart trembling in fear.

"So, it's the Knights of the Dawn," said Murdred in a smug tone of voice. "We were alerted that you attempted to breach the moat. What are you doing here now? Aren't you supposed to be out there searching for the Diavolt so that you may present it to me?"

"Listen, Murdred," said Seth, crossing his arms. "We just so happen to have the Diavolt that you so desperately yearn for."

"And where is it?" asked Murdred, glaring at the various members of Seth's entourage.

"You'll get them. Under one condition."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," said Murdred. "We agreed that in exchange for your release, you would present to me both the Diavolt and the Pyruby within one week's time. Don't go giving me any _conditions_. Now, do you just happen to be in the neighborhood, or do you mean business? Because if not, someone's going to get hurt."

Helwic snapped her fingers. An instant later, Ingrid magically appeared next to Helwic, her wrist now being held in the negafae's hand.

"Hey, what's going on?" shrieked Ingrid, as the adlets circled around Helwic.

"Leave her out of this!" roared Seth.

"Give me the relics," said Murdred. "NOW!"

Seth extended his hand, holding in it the bag which contained both of the fake relics. "They're in here."

"I'll get them, Lord Murdred," said Helwic, as she let go of Ingrid, who was too scared to move back to the group.

Helwic slowly advanced towards Seth. She stopped in front of Seth and stared directly at him for a moment, then at the bag he was holding.

"These will do quite nicely," said Helwic, as she grabbed onto the bag, quickly ripping it out of Seth's grasp. "Goodbye!" She then snapped her fingers, causing herself, Murdred, the adlets and Seth to all vanish.

"SETH!" the rest of the group all shouted in unison.


	16. The Doomsday Virus

**Chapter 16: The Doomsday Virus**

Feeling discombobulated, Seth stumbled around to keep his footing, until his new surroundings came into view. No longer was he standing atop a cliff with the rest of his allies. Instead he had been uncontrollably relocated into Murdred's throne room. Surrounding him were none other than Helwic, Xipp, Xeero, Xillch and the Demon God himself.

"Seth Sorenson," said Murdred. "Thank you for bringing me the relics. I greatly appreciate it. And so quickly, too. I expected no less than punctuality, but _this_ is something else entirely."

Seth was flustered. He could feel his heart pounding heavily within his chest. _This_ had not been what he and his group were anticipating. They were hoping that they could get their hands on the Necromaster. Not to forfeit the fake relics to Murdred and let Seth get abducted.

"Hmm," said Helwic, as she removed the phony Diavolt from the sack and eyed it curiously.

"Don't just stand there, Helwic," said Murdred. "Give me the relics."

"With all due respect, Lord Murdred," said Helwic, as she then examined the Pyruby, "something appears to seem _off_ with these two relics."

"What do you **mean**?" asked Murdred, raising his voice as he finished his sentence.

"Well, I'm not sensing any sort of power from either of these relics. If I'm not mistaken, it would appear that both of them are not what they seem."

"Oh, really?" asked Murdred. "Well maybe our friend Seth would be so kind as to explain what the problem is with these relics."

Seth froze on the spot. He couldn't just tell Murdred the truth, could he? What would happen then? With the adlets standing by his side, there was seemingly no way out of this predicament.

"Well..." said Murdred. "Get on with it."

"The relics..." began Seth, "are fakes."

"I knew it!" blurted Helwic, who was clenching a relic in each of her hands. "I couldn't sense anything from these phonies!"

Murdred held a claw up to his forehead, then shook his head in disgust. "You know, Seth. I bet you and your friends thought that could pull a fast one on me. Well it didn't work. In fact, I don't know why you even so much as _thought_ you could try to fool me with those fake relics."

"You're right," said Seth. "Guess I couldn't fool you. You might as well let me go home so that I can retrieve the real relics."

Murdred glared at Seth. "Do you honestly think that this whole thing is some kind of _game_?"

"I'm sorry. My plan to dupe you totally backfired! I'll get you the real relics if you just let me go!"

"Do you have the real relics on you or not?"

Seth winced. Of course he didn't have any of the real relics on his person. He had even given the Pyruby to Warren prior to the trip, if only to keep it separated from the phony one. Of course, Seth was now strongly regretting that choice. If he still had the Pyruby on him, he could at least try to fend off Murdred and his acolytes. As the situation stood right now, Seth was completely helpless.

"I don't have the Diavolt, or the Pyruby, or any of actual relics on me," replied Seth.

"That's really too bad," said Murdred. "For you see, I was under the impression that you and I had come to an agreement just yesterday. Namely, that I would release both you and your accursed friend under the stipulation that you would, in exchange, present to me both the Pyruby and Diavolt in one week's time."

"Absolutely. And it hasn't even been an entire week. Just one day so far. So, don't I have six days left until the deadline?"

"Forget it," said Murdred. "I don't like being lied to. I don't like being deceived or snookered either. Do you want to know what happens to people who double-cross me? Well, you're about to find out."

Seth held out his hands, palms facing forward. "Look, I'll get you the relics!"

"SILENCE!" bellowed Murdred, in a booming voice that nearly shook the whole room. "You have crossed the line, Seth Sorenson! It's time I do with you what I should have done yesterday! Helwic! Bring me the the special crystal that I have set aside for Seth."

"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Helwic. The negafae then snapped her fingers, causing a black crystal to magically appear in her hand.

"Excellent."

"Uh, what is that thing?" asked Seth.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," replied Murdred. "Adlets, seize Seth!"

"No!" cried Seth, as he bounded away from the adlets, just as they would have pounced upon him. He began to dash towards the doors to the throne room, but soon fell to the floor once his body was tackled by an adlet from the rear.

"I got him!" said Xeero, as he grasped his claws around Seth's body, holding his arms in place as he lifted him off of the floor.

"Let me go, you stupid dog!" snapped Seth, as he attempted to wriggle himself free from Xeero's grasp. Alas, the adlet's strength greatly overwhelmed his own, and Seth quickly came to the conclusion that this was a fight he could not win.

"Give me the crystal, Helwic," said Murdred, accepting the aforementioned crystal from the negafae.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Seth, as Murdred walked up to him, brandishing the crystal within his scaly hands.

"This crystal is going to do something to you. And you will be completely helpless to stop it."

"You can't get away with this! The others knights _will_ stop you!"

Murdred laughed. "Is that what you actually think? Go on! Take a gander out the window!"

Xeero pushed Seth out of his grasp, and Murdred gestured for Seth to walk over over towards one of the windows. The windows within the throne room were all lined up along one of the side walls, each of which stretched from the floor to the ceiling.

Seth stepped up to one of the windows and gazed out at what stood before him. In front of him were turrets and the roofs of lower towers. Beyond them, Seth could see the vast lake of lava, which from his current, high-up perspective only further proved to him just how vast it really was.

"You see my new moat out there?" asked Murdred. "Had the old one expanded, since I was sick of you and your friends constantly barging into my castle uninvited. I've got monsters swimming around throughout the moat, along with a protective barrier surrounding the castle. Anyone dumb enough to try and cross this moat without my authorization is going to have a very nasty time."

Seth thought to himself. There had to be a safe way across the moat. Unless, of course, there really wasn't. Seth dreaded the idea. As far as he could tell, he was trapped.

"And now, to deal with you." said Murdred. "Xeero, if you would be so kind as to hold Seth again.

"Of course," said Xeero, as he quickly scurried behind Seth and grasped him once again, before Seth could even so much as avoid being caught.

"Now, I suppose you're wondering what this crystal is for," said Murdred, as he held out the crystal in front of Seth's face.

Now that he could see it up close, Seth could tell that the crystal, which was curved and pointed at one end, was similar in shape to a hawkbill blade.

"Ehh, I'm not _that_ curious."

Murdred chuckled. "Seth, you remember that elixir, don't you? How drinking it made you become dark?"

"What about it?" grumbled Seth.

"As useful as it was, its effects were not entirely permanent. Oh sure, it yielded different results when Naomi drank it, but with all due respect, the elixir was not the best thing for someone like her. Someone who was naturally vile to begin with. As for you, it served its intended purpose, but its effects wore off when you were exposed to an excessive amount of light energy."

"What does that mean?" asked Seth.

"That's where this crystal comes in," said Murdred, dangling it in front of Seth's face. "Until I discovered the dark crystal cache underneath the castle, this wouldn't have been possible. But now, I will finally triumph over you."

"What are you going to do?"

"That elixir may have altered you, but it was little more than a drug, causing your body to undergo an artificial change. But this crystal! It will change the very fabric of your being! It's unstoppable! And best of all, it cannot be removed!"

"No!" blurted Seth. "You can't do this!"

"And why not? You don't have the power to stop me now. And neither do your friends! So stop looking for excuses! I am going to inject this crystal directly into your body, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Xeero, move your claws down. They can't be blocking Seth's heart!"

"STOP!" screamed Seth, as Xeero, who was still holding him, moved his claws down so that they now surrounded Seth's stomach.

Seth began shaking his entire body as much as he could. Although his arms were constricted, he swerved his upper body and legs around, trying to loosen himself from Xeero's grasp.

"Lord Murdred, would you prefer it if I used my magic to restrain Seth?" asked Helwic.

"No. I don't want your magic inadvertently interfering with the crystal. Xipp, Xillch. Help Xeero restrain Seth."

Xipp proceeded to stand behind Seth press his paws down upon his shoulders, while Xillch knelt down and held Seth's legs together at the ankles. At this point, Seth was truly unable to budge himself at all.

"This is it, Seth," said Murdred. "Your life as a human being ends here!"

Standing directly in front of Seth, Murdred proceeded to hold up the crystal, as though he was going to stab him with it.

"NO! PLEASE STOP!" screamed Seth.

Without a response, Murdred thrust the crystal down at Seth, aiming directly at his heart. Seth could feel as the blade of the crystal pierced his shirt... but that was it. He could not feel his skin being penetrated at all.

Despite not being able to move his head, Seth watched as Murdred shoved the crystal directly into his chest. Although Seth could feel the as the crystal was being inserted into his body, he inexplicably experienced no pain whatsoever.

Once the crystal had been pushed in all the way, Murdred removed his hand from Seth's body.

"It is done," said Murdred. "You three may release Seth now."

As the adlets let go of Seth, he immediately rubbed his hand over his heart. Although his shirt had still been punctured by the crystal, there was nothing the matter with his actual body. There was no pain, no cut, no incision, no scar. Instead of being in agony from being stabbed directly in the heart, Seth felt completely healthy, as though nothing had happened to him.

"What did you do to me?" asked Seth.

Murdred laughed. "Why Seth. I've changed you."

"Changed me? How?"

"That crystal was specially crafted to _alter_ you. And it will."

"You're bluffing! I don't feel a bit different!"

"Regrettably, the effects of the crystal are not instant. But fear not. At this very moment, the crystal, which has essentially been merged into your body, is circulating darkness all throughout you. Like a virus. With no cure."

"You can't do this!"

"I don't understand what you're saying," said Murdred. "For you see, I've done just that. I have successfully merged the crystal into your body, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"I'll get it out!"

"No you won't. That crystal no longer possesses a physical form. It's become a part of you. Separating it from you is not physically possible."

"Then what is the crystal going to do to me?" asked Seth.

"This crystal contains an overwhelming volume of darkness. By infusing it with your shadow charmer body, it will slowly spread out and overwhelm the rest of your body, so that you become nothing but a being of pure darkness."

"I'll fight it! If you think I'm going to let some stupid crystal get the better of me, you're wrong!"

Murdred didn't respond. He just remained smile at Seth, his arms crossed in a smug pose.

"If I turn in to a being of pure darkness, what makes you think I won't rebel, like Naomi did?"

"Nemenemi?" asked Murdred. "Please, she did not scare me, even at her fullest. Had your group not interfered, I could have done away with her at any time I so chose. And besides, as a shadow charmer, you will provide a much greater source of darkness than some rotten, yet otherwise ordinary human."

"But what about the relics?" asked Seth.

"You had your chance to bring me the relics. But because you've failed me, this will be your punishment! And if you or your friends think that I've given up on obtaining the relics, you're all mistaken!"

"We'll stop you!"

"Oh, please. How do you even intend to do that? The way it stands now, I've got you trapped in my impregnable castle, you have no means of escape, and you're too weak to stop me. Just what do you intend to do now?"

"I... don't know," replied Seth. He tried to think of another deal he could make a deal with Murdred, or perhaps find a loophole. He had a deal with the Singing Sisters, did he not? He agreed to come rescue them. Of course, he was not legally bound to do so, so it wasn't like he would face any consequence from not fulfilling his end of the bargain.

"Face it, Seth," said Murdred. "You've lost! Nothing that you or your friends can do will save you from your ultimate fate."

"Why are you doing this to me? Revenge? What do you hope to gain from it?"

"Revenge means little to me in and of itself. However, by turning you into a creature of pure darkness, I can only benefit from it. And you have yourself and your friends to thank for it. For you see, it was _your_ repeated trespassing into this very castle that prompted me to expand the moat and discover the darkness crystals that had formulated underneath the castle. So in a way, this whole thing is actually your own undoing."

"You're never going to get the rest of the relics at this rate!"

"Oh, I'm sure they will fall into my hands one way or another before long."

"Look, I don't care what you try doing to me!" exclaimed Seth. "I am not helping you with anything! I'd rather die!"

"You wouldn't kill yourself," said Murdred. "Right now you care too much about your family to do such a thing. And when the crystal's darkness overwhelms your heart, you won't exactly think in the same manner as you do right now."

"What should we do with Seth, then?" asked Xipp.

"You want us to put him in the dungeon?" asked Xillch.

"How long do you think it'll take before he's changed and we can let him out?" asked Xeero.

"No, no no," said Murdred. "What will be accomplished by imprisoning Seth in the dungeon? Know what I think? I think we should send Seth back home to Fablehaven."

"Fablehaven?" asked Helwic, as she, Seth and the adlets all dropped their jaws in astonishment. "Isn't that where he _wants_ to go?"

"Perish the thought," said Murdred. "The way I see it now, Seth is doomed no matter which way you look at it. By allowing him to go back to Fablehaven, with no way of removing the effects of the crystal, his family will be left with no choice but to try removing it, only to fail in the end. They'll be stuck watching as the good-natured Seth Sorenson, whom they all know and love, goes from admirable family member to demonic entity before their very eyes."

Seth thought to himself. Murdred had to be bluffing about the effects of the crystal. Wasn't he? After all, it's not like he had another shadow charmer to test one on. He seemed so certain that his plan would work perfectly. But then, why was he willing to allow Seth to return to Fablehaven, as opposed to keeping him a prisoner in his castle?

"But there's all those fairies at Fablehaven!" exclaimed Xillch. "What if they nullify the effects of the crystal or something?"

"Oh, that's the beauty of all this," replied Murdred. "Because the crystal has combined with Seth, that won't be possible! They cannot possibly separate the crystal from Seth. They'd sooner destroy him!"

"Are you positive about all this?" asked Xipp.

"I can't be one-hundred percent certain. But either way, I'm looking forward to how Fablehaven and its occupants will react to Seth, now that he's been inflicted with the darkness crystal.

"So you're just _allowing_ me to return to Fablehaven?" asked Seth.

"Of course. I see it as some sort of experiment. You see, if the fairies find a way to undo the effects of the crystal, it means that my plan actually was imperfect. Or, most likely, their attempt to counter the crystal fails, and you turn into a creature of darkness, bringing hysteria upon your family."

Seth dreaded the thought. He felt pretty confident that Murdred knew what he was doing, if he was willing to essentially release him. On the other hand, Seth felt as though there was hope for him yet. That the crystal's effects upon him could be countered.

"Well, I no longer require Seth's presence right now," said Murdred. "Helwic, open a portal to Fablehaven. I want to find out how everything ultimately unfolds."

"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Helwic, as she used her magic to conjure up a portal before herself.

"All right, Seth," said Murdred. "This portal will send you home. Go on, step through it."

Seth gazed into the portal that was floating before him. Even if it really would transport him home, Seth still felt that by stepping through it, he would also be stepping into a trap.


	17. At a Loss

**Chapter 17: At a Loss**

Kendra and the rest of her allies stood completely dumbfounded, as Seth suddenly vanished before their very eyes, along with Helwic, Murdred, and the adlets.

"Whoa!" cried Ingrid.

"What just happened?" asked Skyfrost.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Warren. "We've been duped! That's what happened!"

Kendra could feel the sensation of fear taking over her entire body. In mere seconds, Helwic had successfully abducted Seth right from under everybody's nose.

"Well, where are they?" asked Firesquall.

"You have to ask?" asked Kendra, as she pointed in the direction of the castle. "Ten to one, they went over there!"

"What are we going to do?" asked Ingrid.

"We have to go after them," said Warren. "I'm holding onto the real Pyruby right now, so Seth is completely defenseless!"

"Poor Seth," said Geminus."Who knows what horrible things they might be doing to him."

"I don't think they wanted him dead," said Bracken. "Still, we've got to get into the castle right away."

"But what about the monsters in the moat?" asked Ingrid.

"We'll fly into the sky and slip across," replied Warren. "Raxtus, you take Kendra. That way both of you can at least turn invisible and avoid detection. Skyfrost and Firesquall, since you're both fast, I want the two of you to tow Geminus across. Geminus, you can use your power to protect the wyverns and yourself. Bracken, you're best off hiding again at this point. Understood?"

Everyone nodded and raised a hand or claw in response.

"Good," said Warren, as he climbed up onto Firesquall. "We've got no time to lose."

Kendra and Ingrid complied, and got up onto the backs of Raxtus and Geminus respectively. Kendra proceeded to pull the invisibility gloves out of her bag and slipped them on, causing her to fade out of sight. Lastly, Bracken used his power to make himself vanish.

"All right, Mom," said Skyfrost, as he and Firesquall both propped up their tails in front of Geminus. "Grab onto our tails!"

"Got it," said Geminus, as she grasped Skyfrost's tail in her right claw, and Firesquall's in her left. "Raxtus, you might as well hold onto my tail, or you'll never keep up with us."

"Okay," said Raxtus, as he placed his claws around Geminus' tail, then went ahead and allowed himself to become invisible as well.

"Ready?" asked Warren.

The rest of the group then gave Warren a positive response.

"Then let's do this. Wings up, everyone!"

Kendra watched as Skyfrost, Firesquall and Geminus all raised their wings in their upward positions. Although she couldn't see it, Kendra sensed as Raxtus did the same with his own set of wings.

"Everyone ready?" asked Warren. "Good! Let's soar!"

Skyfrost and Firesquall leaped up into the air, as Geminus and Raxtus followed directly behind them. They proceeded to fly upwards on a very steep incline, but did so at a exceptionally fast speed, too fast for either Raxtus or Geminus to reach under their own power.

"That's good," said Warren, prompting the dragons to stop in midair after rising up for about a minute.

"There's smoke clouds even higher up," said Ingrid. "Maybe we could hide above them."

Kendra looked up towards the sky, where she could see thick layers of smoke a good two hundred feet higher than their current position.

"We're high enough," said Skyfrost. "Besides, it'll be too hard for us to see where the castle is if we're above the smoke."

Kendra gazed down at the land below. They appeared to be a good several hundred feet in the air. From this perspective, she could again see a large section of the lava lake beneath her, including Murdred's castle in the distance, which she presumed was probably at the very center of the lake.

"I'm going set up my barrier around all of us now," said Geminus.

"Good," said Ingrid, as a brilliant pink glow exerted itself from Geminus, enveloping everyone in its light before fading.

"Okay, its up for now. But I don't think it'll last too long in here."

"With our speed, too long will be more than enough time for us," said Firesquall.

"But not for Seth," said Kendra.

"Understood," said Warren. "To the castle! Full speed ahead!"

The wyverns then proceeded to soar downwards towards the castle, towing Geminus and Raxtus along with them. As the wyverns folded their wings back, their speed increased substantially; Kendra could feel the intense wind rushing against her face. As they sped over the lava lake, they were flying significantly faster than Raxtus or Geminus ever could on their own.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Ingrid. "You two are _fast_!"

"We can fly faster than this," said Skyfrost.

"Warren says our top speed is Mach 1," said Firesquall.

"But not with passengers," said Warren. "Human bodies would burn up at that speed."

Although the castle was a good mile or so away from the edge of the lake, it felt as though the entire flight was going to take no more than thirty seconds. In almost no time at all, the group was nearing in on the castle.

"Slow down," said Warren, as the dragons complied by extending their wings outward and decreasing their speed once they were no more than fifty feet away from an outer wall of the castle.

"Stupid lava," said Ingrid. "We should've just done this in the first place, then we wouldn't have lost Seth..."

Now no more than twenty feet away from the castle, Skyfrost and Firesquall both flinched in midair, before the two of them suddenly started dwindling downward towards the lava.

"BOYS!" screamed Geminus, as she and Raxtus both flapped their wings in an attempt to slow down their fall, while still holding onto the wyverns' tails.

"They're too heavy!" exclaimed Raxtus, as everyone plunged further towards the lava.

"Fly, you two!" shouted Warren.

Within seconds, the dragons had fallen past the fist floor of the castle, and were now falling past the cliffside that supported the structure above the lava.

Suddenly, Bracken appeared behind Kendra's back. He quickly shot beams of rainbow-colored energy at both Skyfrost and Firesquall, stopping them in midair no more than ten feet above the surface of the lava.

"Almost got it!" groaned Skyfrost, as he and Firesquall both resumed flapping their wings, now keeping themselves in the air.

"Thanks, Bracken," said Firesquall. "That was close!"

"Good lord that was close!" cried Kendra. "What happened?"

"I dunno!" blurted Firesquall, as Geminus let go of both his and Skyfrost's tails. "As soon as we got this close to the castle, I experienced a sudden shock! I lost control of myself!"

"Me too," said Skyfrost. "But I managed to snap out of it just in time."

"A shock?" asked Ingrid. "What happened?"

"There's a barrier protecting the castle," said Raxtus. "I remember from before. Before this lava lake was here."

"Are you two okay?" asked Warren. "Geminus' shield should've been protecting you."

"It _was_ protecting them," said Geminus. "If it hadn't been up, Skyfrost and Firesquall would've been knocked unconscious by the power of the barrier, or even killed upon contact."

"If that didn't kill us," said Firesquall, "the lava would've. As much as I embrace fire, red-hot lava is a different story."

"So what about the barrier?" asked Bracken. "How are we supposed to get past it?"

"Maybe we should check out the front door," replied Raxtus. "Though it's probably heavily guarded, if it's not protected by the barrier as well."

"You think maybe there's a way to dispel the barrier somehow?" asked Kendra.

"I dunno," replied Bracken. "It'd probably take an excessive amount of light energy to do so, if it's even possible at all. Also, it would be extremely risky for us to even attempt..."

Before Bracken could finish his sentence, what could best be described as a massive hydra skeleton rose out of the lava, nearly colliding with the group. It sported at least eight skulls, each of which boasted a pair of glowing, red eyes. The sheer size of the skeletal hydra made each member of the group seem tiny in comparison.

"Look out!" cried Geminus, as she and the others dragons flew off in different directions, just before the hydra's skulls all lashed out in different directions.

"Do something!" cried Kendra.

"Like what?!" asked Skyfrost, as he swerved away from one of the skulls, which came close to crushing him with its teeth.

"We've got to get out of here," said Warren, as he rode around on Firesquall's back. "The wyverns took a hit from the barrier, they can barely fly at this rate."

"But what about Seth?" asked Kendra.

"We can't just leave him!" cried Ingrid. "He needs our help!"

"We need help, too!" exclaimed Firesquall.

"He's right," said Bracken, "this situation is just too dangerous. We're getting out of here, now!" Bracken then used his magic to conjure up a portal in midair. "Everyone, get in here."

Skyfrost flew into the portal, while Firesquall and Warren followed.

"What about Seth?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm... sorry..." replied Bracken, as he shook his head. "We're not giving up, but it's foolish to press onward at this point."

Geminus and Ingrid then flew through the portal, leaving only Raxtus, who had Kendra and Bracken on his back.

However, although Kendra and Raxtus were currently invisible, Bracken could still be seen. And he was now the hydra's only target.

"Raxtus, come on!" exclaimed Kendra, as the hydra lowered all of its heads towards them.

"Made it!" blurted Raxtus, as he dove into the portal.

Raxtus and Kendra then emerged from the other end of the portal in the front yard at Fablehaven, where Raxtus made a crash landing on the lawn. Bracken followed soon after.

"Good," said Warren, as Kendra and Raxtus both made themselves reappear, "we're all here!"

Suddenly, one of the hydra's many heads emerged through the portal, still trying to gnash away at the group as it swayed it vertebrae around. Shocked by the monster's sudden appearance, everybody backed away from it.

"Oh my god!" shrieked Ingrid, as the hydra extended its skull towards her. However, it found itself unable to continue; no doubt the creature was too large for it to fit more than one of its necks through the portal at once.

"Bracken, close the portal!" squealed Kendra, as the hydra skull continued flailing around.

"I can't close a portal when its blocked!" retorted Bracken.

At that moment, two streams of fiery white energy, courtesy of Raxtus and Geminus, went surging from the fairy dragons' mouths and towards the hydra skull. The skull let out of bellowing cry, before retreating back into the portal.

"That was close," said Bracken, as he snapped his fingers, causing the portal to shut. "Thanks, you two."

"At least we're all safe now," said Kendra.

"My sentiments exactly," said Warren. "Although it would've been cool if Bracken could've decapitated the head by shutting the portal on it."

"Poor Seth," said Ingrid. "What are we going to do?"

"Let's just go back inside," said Kendra, as she hung her head down in distraught, now on the verge of crying.

Meanwhile, not that far away, outside the front gate of Fablehaven, Seth stepped out from another portal. Just after he turned around to take another look at it, the portal shrank up into nothing before his eyes.

Seth shook his head, then took in a deep breath. The entire encounter with Murdred suddenly felt like a bad dream. But it wasn't. It had been very real. And right now, he didn't know what to do. He didn't feel any different, but knew that something bad was bound to happen now that Murdred had fused that crystal into his body.

Seth knew one thing. He needed help. Murdred had boasted that he was certain that Seth's condition could not be undone, but Seth didn't care. He wanted a cure. He walked over to the nearby gate, opened it up and proceeded to run down the driveway through the woods.

After a few minutes, Seth had reached the yard. He continued onward and ran all that way up to the house, then let himself in through the front door.

"Who's there?" asked Grandma, whose voice came from the living room.

Seth shut the door behind himself and walked over to the entrance to the living room. Sitting there was the rest of his family.

"Seth?!" exclaimed Kendra, he jaw drooping downwards.

"Oh my god," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she placed a hand over her heart.

"It can't be..."said Grandpa, "the others just told us about what happened to you."

"You are the real Seth, aren't you?" asked Warren. "You're not Helwic in disguise? Or a stingbulb?"

"Of course it's me!" exclaimed Seth. "Really! Look, I can explain everything!"

"I want to believe you," said Kendra, as she eyed her brother. "You _seem_ real."

"It's Seth all right," said Bracken. "I just sensed him. But, something about him does seem a little... _off_. Even by his standards."

"Seth, we were so worried about you," said Ingrid, as she got up from her seat and gave Seth a hug.

Seth went on to tell everyone about what went on after he got transported into the castle, and how Murdred went ahead and inserted the darkness crystal into his body.

"And then he just _let_ you come back here?" asked Grandpa.

Seth nodded. He said that the crystal is going to just corrupt my body, and there's nothing I can do about it. I feel fine now, but over time, it's going to get worse."

"That does concern me," said Grandpa.

"Bracken," said Mr. Sorenson, "would it be possible for you to somehow cancel out or remove the effects of the crystal on Seth?"

Bracken raised his hands and shook his head. "No way, Scott. I'm sorry, but this whole concept is completely foreign to me. I'm already sensing a peculiar aura from Seth. I don't want to risk using my power on him and possibly making things even worse."

"Are you certain there's nothing you can do?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

Bracken winced. "This sort of thing just isn't my forte. But I know others who can help."

"Who?" asked Seth.

"My sisters. I'll have a word with them, and see if they'd be willing to help."

"Really?" asked Ingrid. "That's great!"

Bracken took in a slow breath. "Yeah... I can't make any promises here. As knowledgeable as my sisters are, I can't guarantee that they can help Seth. They might be able to better analyze him. But as for countering that crystal... I can't say at all."

"Anything that you can do to help," said Kendra, "we would greatly appreciate it."

"Of course. I'm going to head back to the Fairy Kingdom and see what I can do. I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

Bracken got up from his seat and made his way out of the living room. Everyone gave their goodbyes to Bracken as he made his way out the front door, then closed it behind him.

"I just don't get it," said Ingrid. "Why does Murdred want you so badly, even after you keep rejecting him?"

"He doesn't care about me," said Seth. "He only cares about my shadow charmer abilities. Regardless of our drastically different personalities and opinions, he sees me of some sort of protege. One whom he can exploit."

"I wish Murdred would understand," said Kendra. "But he's just too much of a hate-mongering bigot to ever consider such a thing."

"I should've just told him I have ADHD," said Seth. "He'd probably think that's a real turn off."

"I bet Murdred doesn't even know what ADHD even is," said Mr. Sorenson.

"I'd just explain it to him," said Seth. "Do you think he'd get mad?"

"Considering the guy had a conniption fit when he discovered that I was left-handed..." replied Warren. "Such a revelation would probably make his head explode."

"You know," said Kendra, "it's strikes me as odd that somebody can be so hateful towards something they don't even understand."

"People have always been that way throughout history," said Mr. Sorenson. "It's practically human nature. But it doesn't mean that society can't change itself for the better."

"I know," said Kendra, "it's just that... Murdred doesn't know Seth has ADHD. Because it's not immediately obvious. Same with me having Asperger Syndrome. He might suspect that something's a _little_ unusual about me. If I wasn't already fairykind, that is, and we actually had a proper conversation. And he'd probably want me dead."

"When Warren was catatonic, it was a lot like looking after someone with severe autism," said Dale. "He couldn't look after himself to save his life. But I loved him all the same. I know that what you have is a very mild form of autism, Kendra. I mean, it's practically unnoticeable compared to what Warren was like, and you're more than capable at exceeding in life. But the fact that someone could be so hateful towards an individual who lives their life like Warren did during his catatonic days... it just **hurts** me inside."

Ingrid shook her head. "I love everyone in this room. Just the way they are. What Murdred would do to us if he could is just... _barbaric_."

"What can we do now?" asked Seth.

"I don't know," replied Grandma. "I suppose we should just wait for Bracken to return with his sisters, so that hopefully, they can better analyze and assess you."

"But I'm worried. What if they're unable to help me? What if there's nothing they can do, and the crystal really does take its toll on me? What then?"

Grandpa took a deep breath and shook his head. "I don't have an answer to that, Seth. But even if the fairy angels can't help you, it doesn't mean we'll give up. We'll keep trying Seth. We won't give up."


	18. The Impossible Cure

**Chapter 18: The Impossible Cure**

For the next little while, Seth sat on the swinging bench that was suspended upon the front porch of the house. Alone with himself, Seth gazed out towards the west, watching as the sun started to set in the horizon, beyond the trees.

Seth thought about what his future might hold at this point. Would Bracken's sisters actually be able to help him? What if they couldn't? What then? Would he be doomed to suffer the effects of the crystal that was spreading within him, whatever they might be?

Before he think about his situation any further, his attention was suddenly drawn towards the front door that was opening up. Ingrid walked out onto the porch, then over to the swing, where she sat down next to Seth.

"Hey," she said. "How are you?"

"I dunno," replied Seth reluctantly.

"Don't worry," said Ingrid. "Grandpa said that if the fairy angels are unable to help you, we're not going to give up on helping you."

"That's exactly what worries me. Grandpa means well, but he can't provide any assurance to his claim. If he can't actually help, it feels like he's just giving me false hope."

"It's not exactly false hope, because we're still going to keep trying."

"Then what exactly is he giving?" asked Seth. "Unreliable hope?"

Seth, I don't think any of us intend to make promises that we are unable to keep. But, this is a situation that all of us are unfamiliar with. If we don't know of a solution, then one needs to be found."

"And what if one can't be found?"

"I don't know. But whatever happens, I'll always care for you. I'll always love you."

"Even if I change drastically, to the point where I'm a completely different, unrecognizable person? Or perhaps not even a person at all anymore?"

Ingrid nodded. "That's one promise I'm willing to keep. No matter what."

"Thank you," said Seth.

A moment later, Seth could see Bracken emerging from the trees at the end of the yard, coming from the direction of the naiad's pond. Walking directly behind him were two other figures, whom Seth soon identified as Bravia and Brook.

"Bracken!" exclaimed Ingrid. "You're back!"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" asked Bracken, as he and his sisters walked through across the lawn and up to the house. "I told you I'd be back before long."

"Hey there!" said Bravia, as she waved towards Seth and Ingrid.

"Long time, no see!" chimed in Brook, as the three fairy siblings walked up onto the porch.

"I don't get it, Bracken," said Bravia, as she and Brook gazed around at Seth's body. "He l _ooks_ normal."

"Girls, I told you," said Bracken. "The problem that Seth has is only internal. For now, anyway."

"How should we go about doing this?" asked Brook.

"I think it's best that we let the rest of his family know what's going on, first," said Bracken.

"I'll go tell them you're here," said Ingrid, as she got up from the porch swing and made her way back inside the house.

Within less than a minute, the rest of Seth's family made their way out through the front door, and were all standing on the porch, where they made sure to greet Bravia and Brook.

"Now what we're all acquainted again," said Grandpa, "where should we have you fairies perform this procedure?"

"Anywhere where there's space ought to work," replied Brook.

"The yard should work," said Bracken. "Away from the garden, though. There's ample space, and none of the preserve's creatures will be get in the way."

"Okay," said Seth, as he got up from his seat. The fairies then lead him, along with the rest of his family, to an outer area of the yard, where there was a large clearing of grass.

"Please, said Bravia. "Take a seat."

"Seth looked down at the lawn. "On the grass?"

"How about a chair?" asked Brook. She pointed at the ground, causing bluish, crystalline sparks to fly out her fingertip. Before everyone's eyes, the sparks had caused a wooden garden chair to magically appear on the lawn before Seth.

"Not bad," said Seth, as he seated himself on the chair.

"Bracken, are you or your sisters sure that this is safe?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

"We have no intention of harming Seth," replied Bravia. "But we can't make any promises. If we sense that we're somehow causing further harm, we'll stop."

"I hope the two of you are enough," said Kendra. "Were none of the other fairy angels available?"

"Just us," replied Brook. "The rest of them have their hands full constantly. And this simply wasn't considered a dire enough of a situation for them to shirk their present responsibilities."

"At least Clover and the others are working hard," said Warren. "I'm very proud of her. All of them, really."

"They'd love to be here," said Bravia. "All of them. But they're just too busy at the moment."

"I understand," said Seth. "But do you mind if we just get this whole ordeal over with already?"

"Of course," said Bracken as he turned to face his sisters. "Uh, how do you propose we do this?"

"I figure the best thing we can do would be to form a circle around Seth," replied Brook.

Bracken complied, as he and his sisters all held hands, in a way so that they were now standing in a circle around Seth.

"How do we do this?" asked Bracken. "This isn't something I have any familiarity with."

"Just lend us your power," replied Bravia. "Brook and I will be able to control it."

"You ready, Seth?" asked Brook.

"I guess," replied Seth, who sincerely did not know what to expect at this point.

Everyone watched as the bodies of the three fairy angels all began to emit a brilliant white glow. Soon, they had enveloped themselves and Seth in a white energy bubble. A moment later, the bubble disappeared.

"Seth," said Bravia. "That bracelet you wear, may I see it?"

"This one?" asked Seth, pointing to the silver bracelet he usually wore on his right wrist.

"Yeah, the one our mother gave to you to protect you from darkness," said Brook.

"I guess," said Seth, as he slipped off the bracelet and presented it to Bravia, who took a moment to examine it.

Bravia shook her head. "The magic in this bracelet is dead."

Seth dropped his jaw. "But how?"

"We don't know," replied Brook. "But it's lost its power."

"It'd be a pretty big coincidence if it just wore off on its own," said Kendra.

"Yeah," said Seth. "I've been to the Demon Domain many times, but its never done anything bad to my bracelet, unless the darkness built up in it over multiple visits."

"There's more to it than that," said Bravia. "Just like Bracken assured us beforehand, there is an unusual flow of dark energy emanating from your body. Going by conjecture and deductive guessing, it's safe to assume that the crystal that Murdred bestowed upon you managed to overload your bracelet with dark energy, essentially rendering it useless."

"Is there any way you can fix it?" asked Seth. "Or if not, request a new one?"

"Probably not," replied Brook. "It seems like the problem here is that the darkness within you has grown too strong for the bracelet to handle, causing it to go kaput. If we were to restore power to the bracelet, or if we were to just present you with a new one, it would most likely just fail in the same manner."

"How bad is the darkness that's inside me?" asked Seth.

"It's stronger than it's normally been," said Bracken. "Nothing serious yet. But it's clear that the bracelet can't withstand both you and the power of the crystal together."

"What can you do to help Seth?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm not sure," replied Brook. "The crystal Seth mentioned has, for all intents and purposes, been fused into his body, so extracting it would be impossible."

"Surely there must be some way to counter it!" exclaimed Grandma.

"We wish," said Bravia. "Dark crystals are solid pieces of pure darkness. They are a power like no other. The only practical counter to dark crystals are light crystals. Are those are extremely rare. The last known light crystal was lost during that fight with Murdred."

"Trask has a light fragment," said Kendra. "You think maybe...?"

"That thing would be way too small," said Seth. "The dark crystal was roughly the size of my hand."

"I don't get it," said Ingrid. "These crystals are basically just concentrated energy. Shouldn't enough raw light energy be enough to counter it?"

"It's no longer _just_ a crystal anymore," said Brook. It's become one with Seth. So merely countering it with light energy won't do the trick."

"I'd like to know," said Kendra. "What would happen if you exerted a fair amount of light energy onto Seth?"

"No idea," replied Bravia. "Unless we used a sufficient amount, Seth's body would most likely just eradicate it, like it did with the energy within his bracelet."

"What if you used... a lot of light energy?" asked Seth. "What would happen then?"

"It's hard to say," replied Brook. "The problem is, too much light energy would be enough to counter not only the dark crystal, but your own body as well. Although enough of our light energy would be capable of eliminating the darkness within your body, it is unable to differentiate between your innate shadow charmer darkness, and darkness that's been spawned from the crystal."

"What would happen if you removed all the darkness from Seth?" asked Ingrid. "By overwhelming his body with light energy?"

"Doing such a thing could destroy him!" replied Bracken. "Like when we've defeated a monster by overwhelming it with light energy, which would ultimately banish it to the Netherworld."

"Great," said Seth reluctantly thinking back to when he had wrongly been banished to the dreary Netherworld. "What can we do now?"

"You've gotta do something!" said Ingrid. "Please! Help Seth!"

"I'm not sure what we _can_ do," said Bravia. "We might be able to exert a reasonable amount of light energy upon Seth without being overbearing. While it wouldn't be enough to instantly eradicate the darkness, perhaps it might at least do something to counter it."

"Are you sure that this is absolutely safe?" asked Mr. Sorenson.

"It shouldn't overwhelm Seth," replied Brook. "I'm thinking we could do this gradually, over a course of several times. That way, we wouldn't be exposing Seth to too much light energy at once."

"Just like medicine," said Warren. "That way, Seth wouldn't overdose on light energy, so to speak. Let it run its course before forcing more upon him."

"I'd be willing to go with it," said Seth. "At this point, what have I got to lose?"

"Very well," said Grandpa. "If Seth agrees to it, and nobody has any better ideas, I suppose you fairies might as well go ahead and expose Seth to your light energy. But not too much."

"Okay," said Bravia. "Let's do this."

Once again, Bracken, Bravia and Brook stood in a circle around Seth. This time, however, rather than holding hands, the fairy angels instead held their arms forward, palms facing outwards at Seth.

"Is this going to hurt me?" asked Seth.

"We're going to exert our power at a low frequency," replied Brook. "And only for a short time. If you experience any discomfort, let us know, and we'll stop immediately."

"Okay," said Seth, not knowing what to expect at this point. "I'm ready. Go ahead."

Everyone watched as the hands of the three fairy angels all began to glow in a rainbow of colors. Beams of colorful energy then shot out from their hands and into Seth's body, transferring power from the fairy angels into the shadow charmer.

The sensation didn't hurt Seth at all. He actually rather enjoyed it. The flow of light energy actually brought him a warm, cozy feeling. It gave him a feeling of hope, confidence and assurance. As though he could feel his worries all melting away.

"Okay, that's plenty," said Bravia, bringing the flow of her energy to a halt, and prompting Brook and Bracken to stop their energies as well.

Seth could feel as the soothing feeling abruptly ended. As nice as it had been, Seth knew that he couldn't rely on raw fairy energy indefinitely.

"Seth," said Bracken. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine," replied Seth.

"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Brook. "No pain or discomfort of any sort?"

Seth shook his head. "I felt the light energy flowing into my body. But that was it. It didn't hurt me or anything."

"Do you still feel the light energy within you?" asked Bravia.

"No. Is that good, or bad?"

"Good, I hope," replied Brook. "That means it hasn't overpowered your body, and that it hasn't been consumed by the darkness. You're just going to have to give it some time before we see any results.

"You mean, I'm go to go?" asked Seth.

"For now," replied Bravia. "We'll have to do a follow-up sometime. How about in the morning?"

"I guess that would work. Thanks, you guys!"

"Our pleasure, Seth," said Brook. "Glad we could be of help."

"Remember," said Bravia, "if you feel that the situation gets out of control, let us know, okay?"

"If you don't mind," said Brook, "we really need to get back to our duties. We'll be off now. But we'll be back first thing in the morning to check on you, Seth."

"I understand," said Seth.

"Don't worry," said Bracken. "I'll be here to keep a watch on you. Bravia, Brook, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Goodbye, Bracken!" said Bravia.

"Bye Kendra," said Brook. "Goodbye to all of you!"

Bravia and Brook then extended their wings and rose up into the air, heading in the direction of the naiads' pond. As they flew away, the two fairy angels each left a trail of rainbow-colored sparkles that quickly faded away.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" asked Seth.

"I'm not sure," replied Grandpa. "Right now, I'd rather you don't return to the Demon Domain, until we're certain that the magic of the fairy angels has run its course."

"But what about Murdred?" asked Ingrid. "We're still no closer to stopping him, and he's going to be coming after Seth sooner or later."

"Not to mention the Singing Sisters," said Seth. "I owe it to them to try and rescue them from Murdred's castle."

"But that's the problem," said Warren. "We can't. Not only is reaching the castle extremely dangerous, but the building itself is protected by a powerful barrier. "The only way you've been getting inside is because of Helwic."

"Does anybody have _any_ ideas?" asked Seth.

"I'm afraid not," said Grandpa, as he and the other adults all shook their heads. "But as long as Murdred can spy on you while you're away from Fablehaven, your best bet would be to remain here for the time being. Until we can get this whole situation of yours under control."

"I understand."

"It's getting late," said Grandma. "Marla, I think we'd better get dinner started."

The rest of the adults all walked back towards the house, leaving just Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Bracken together in the yard.

"I'm still worried," said Seth.

"Don't worry too much," said Ingrid. "At least you're out of Murdred's castle, and still in one piece."

"I suppose there's that."

"And as long as you stay here at Fablehaven, Murdred can't get you," noted Kendra. "Combined with the light energy that the fairies exerted upon you, what's the worst that could happen?"

A moment later, Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod all flew up to the group.

"Hello, Bracken," said Passion, as the red fairy perched herself upon the unicorn prince's shoulder.

"Kendra!" said Larissa as she landed upon one of her shoulders.

"Ingrid!" chimed in Goldenrod, flying over to her.

"Hey, girls," said Ingrid, "what's up?"

"That's what we wanted to know," said Goldenrod. "What were the princesses doing here earlier?"

The kids and Bracken explained what the purpose of Bravia and Brook's visit was.

"So that's what it is..." said Passion, as she flew off of Bracken's shoulder and over towards Seth. "I knew something felt off over here. But in a good way."

"Uh, Passion," said Bracken, "you really shouldn't get too close to Seth."

"What's wrong?" asked Seth. "I never get to have fairies this close to me, unless it's for something bad."

"Yeah, Bracken," said Passion, as she landed herself upon Seth's head, nestling herself in his hair. "I'm sensing light energy from Seth!"

"Stop!" cried Bracken, "just being near that dark crystal is bad for you!"

Kendra watched as within mere seconds, Passion suddenly transformed from a pretty red fairy into an black, gnarled imp.

"Passion!" shrieked Larissa and Goldenrod.

"What's going on?" asked Seth, as he felt Passion digging her claws into his scalp.

"No!" shrieked Bracken, as he held his hands forward and exerted a beam of rainbow-colored energy at Passion. The imp went flying off of Seth's head, then came crashing down onto the grass several feet away.

"Is she okay?" asked Ingrid, as everyone scurried over to where Passion, still an imp, was currently laying in the grass, seemingly frazzled.

"I can fix her," said Bracken, as he bent down on his knees and scooped up the imp in his hands. He then planted a kiss on Passion, causing her to revert back to her proper fairy form.

"What happened?" asked Passion, as she gazed at her surroundings.

"You were turned into an imp," said Bracken. "But not on purpose. You're safe now."

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Seth. "I didn't do anything! Honest!"

"I was worried this might happen," said Bracken. "The darkness within you is still apparent, even with our light energy."

"What can we do?" asked Kendra.

Bracken gazed at Seth for moment.

"The darkness inside Seth is powerful enough to affect small fairies like Passion, but the rest of us should be safe. However, the light energy, even though it can't quash the darkness, will only attract fairies. I say that Seth should head inside for now, where the fairies can't reach him."

"We're going to have to be more careful," said Ingrid. "This situation is already worse than we thought."


	19. Shadows in the Night

**Chapter 19: Shadows in the Night**

Before long, the family had gotten through their dinner. Although the chicken curry that had been served was actually quite delicious, nobody at the table really appreciated it for what it was. Instead, they were all too glum over the present situation regarding Seth and Murdred.

"I just feel so guilty," said Seth, as he swirled his spoon through a small bowl filled with blackberries, as well as sliced-up pieces of bananas, kiwis and strawberries. "I was emitting darkness from my body, and I attracted Passion, like I had been setting up some sort of trap for her."

"I guess that I'm partially to blame," said Bracken. "I didn't stop her when I should've. I just didn't think that the effect you had on her would've been so drastic."

"As if my standing with the fairies wasn't already shaky to begin with. Even though you helped Passion right away, the fairies are never going to forgive me for this. Never. Even if we _do_ manage to stop Murdred. Years later, those fairies are going to use this incident as another reason to resent me. I just know it."

"Is Passion going to be okay?" asked Kendra.

"She's fine now," said Bracken. "Although the other fairies are on edge over what happened. However, at least the fairies know now to stay clear of Seth, regardless of any light energy that they might sense from him."

"Great," said Seth, speaking completely redundantly. "As if they already don't already shy away from me."

"Bracken," said Kendra, "are you sure that you need to return to the Fairy Kingdom for the night?"

"I'm afraid so," said Bracken. "Because Bravia and Brook came here to help me, I owe it to them to help them in return. Normally, they wouldn't mind, but they've just been so busy lately, that they can't neglect their initial duties."

"I understand."

After dinner was finished, Bracken left the house and went off to return to the Fairy Kingdom. Seth was completely exhausted by this point. Combined with eating a filling dinner, Seth wanted to do nothing more but lie down on his bed and just relax.

Upon returning to his room, Seth turned on the TV and proceeded to flip through channels, but found that he was lacking the focus needed to pay attention to anything that was on. Instead, he just sat there while a sitcom played in front of him. Seth didn't care what he was watching; a color test pattern would've meant the same thing to him.

"Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson, who was standing in the now-open doorway to Seth's bedroom, "turn off the TV and go to bed."

Saying nothing, Seth turned his head to the side to look at his mother, then turned it back to face the TV again.

"Come on, Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she walked up to the TV and switched it off. "You've had a very long day. Please, you need your rest."

Seth rolled his eyes. He certainly was feeling overtired. He had just been too worked-up to actually admit it. "You're right, Mom. I'll go to bed. See you in the morning."

"Good night, Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind herself.

Seth then got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up. He then went back to his room, changed into his night clothes, switched off the light and hopped into bed. Now that he thought about it, Seth was glad that he was actually going to sleep. Seth shut his eyes, trying to keep what went on earlier out of his mind.

* * *

As her otherwise peaceful body started to shake uncontrollably, Kendra opened opened her eyes. Feeling extremely groggy, Kendra was surprised to see Ingrid standing over her bed, gripping her arm in her hands.

"Kendra, wake up!" gasped Ingrid.

"Ingrid," moaned Kendra, as she winced in response before tilting her head to one side to see the display on her digital alarm clock, which read 2:13. "What do you _want_?"

"Someone's screaming downstairs! I think it's Warren. Listen!"

Kendra and Ingrid both waited silently. A few seconds later, Kendra heard a muffled, masculine scream calling for help from the floor below.

"What's going on down there?"

"I don't know! But it woke me up!"

"Okay," said Kendra, as she got out of bed and slid her feet into her slippers. "Let's get to the bottom of this."

Kendra and Ingrid, both wearing nothing but their nightgowns, scurried over to the attic door. As Ingrid opened the door, she and Kendra could hear the still-muffled cry for help. The sisters then trotted down the stairs, emerging in the second floor hallway.

"HELP!" came the same voice from before, only now it was significantly more audible.

"It came from Warren's room!" exclaimed Ingrid.

"Girls!" said Grandpa, as he and Grandma both stepped out of their bedroom.

"Warren needs help!" shouted Kendra.

"Leave him alone!" snapped Grandma, as she and Grandpa both ran down the hallway towards Kendra and Ingrid.

"What's going on?" cried Ingrid, as she and Kendra both backed away from their approaching grandparents.

"I don't know!" gasped Kendra, as she and Ingrid continued backing away from Grandpa and Grandma, only for them to soon find their backs up against the rear wall of the hallway.

"What do we do?" asked Ingrid. "Warren's room is behind them!"

"Don't go in there!" quipped Grandpa.

"We have to force our way past them," said Kendra. "Whatever's going on right now, they're not doing anything to help!"

Kendra and Ingrid both charged towards their incoming Grandparents. Although the two senior citizens were by no means frail, the two teenage girls were in better shape. Grandpa and Grandma both pushed against Kendra and Ingrid, trying to hold them back.

"Now what?" asked Ingrid, as she pushed against Grandma's body. "I don't want to hurt her!"

"Just force your way past!" said Kendra, as she successfully toppled Grandpa off of his feet and onto his rear end.

"You're making a big mistake!" said Grandpa, as he remained on the ground. Obviously the fall had hurt him to some extent.

"I'm sorry!" said Ingrid, as she then pushed Grandma aside, prompting her foster grandmother to fall onto her back as well.

With both Grandparents now on the floor, Kendra and Ingrid dashed through the hall, stopping in front of the door to Warren's room. Surely enough, another cry for help could be hearing coming from the other side of the door.

"It's locked," said Ingrid, twisting the doorknob.

"We'll have to force it!" shouted Kendra. "I'm not wearing any footwear, but I did bring _this_..."

Kendra removed the Emerock from her pocket and used its power to splinter the wood around the doorknob.

"Nice," said Ingrid, as she ripped out the entire doorknob and pushed the door open.

Kendra and Ingrid entered the room. To their surprise, Dale and Mr Sorenson were standing on opposite sides of the bed, keeping a struggling Warren pinned down with their combined strength.

"GIRLS!" screamed Warren. "The other adults aren't themselves! I don't know why!"

"Get out of here," said Mrs. Sorenson, who had been standing next to her husband. In her hand, she was holding a butcher knife from the kitchen.

"Now what?" asked Ingrid.

"Seth!" exclaimed Kendra. "We need to check on Seth!"

"No, don't!" hissed Mrs. Sorenson.

"He's been quiet this whole time," said Ingrid, as she and Kendra made their way down the hall towards Seth's room.

Kendra opened the door, and saw Seth sleeping soundly on his bed.

"Wake up!" cried Ingrid, as she and Kendra both shook Seth's body around. "It's an emergency!"

His blissful rest inexplicably interrupted, Seth opened his eyes to catch himself being shaken Kendra and Ingrid.

"Hey!" quipped Seth. "W-w-w-what are you doing?"

"Warren's in trouble!" exclaimed Ingrid.

"And the other adults are acting real weird!" noted Kendra. "Like they've been possessed or something!"

"What?" grumbled Seth. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't a joke!" exclaimed Kendra, as she grabbed Seth by his wrist with both of her hands. "Help me, Ingrid!"

Ingrid also grabbed Seth by his arm, and together, the two girls pulled Seth out of his bed. Seth stumbled around for a moment until he got his footing.

"If this is some stupid prank, you're gonna be sorry!" said Seth, as he followed Kendra and Ingrid into the hallway.

Grandpa and Grandma had gotten back up, and proceeded to come running towards the three kids.

"Seth!" said Grandpa in a monotonous voice. "Go back to bed."

"Now do you believe us?" asked Ingrid.

Unable to form a response, Seth remained completely silent.

"Come on!" said Kendra, as she directed Seth and Ingrid over towards Warren's room, before Grandpa and Grandma could reach them.

Seth noticed that the door's handle was missing, just before Kendra swung it open with her hand. Standing on the other side of the door was Mrs. Sorenson, still holding a knife.

"Mom..." said Seth, "what's going on?"

"Get out of here, Seth..." snapped Mrs. Sorenson, as she walked up to the doorway.

"Seth!" screamed Warren from within the room. "Help!"

"Shut up!" hissed Dale, whose voice was soon followed by a muffled sound. It was almost as if Warren was trying to speak, but couldn't.

Seth bent down and charged at his mother's legs. Mrs. Sorenson suddenly lost her balance and fell over onto the floor in Warren's bedroom.

"I got the knife," said Ingrid, as she bent down and picked up the blade that Mrs. Sorenson had dropped.

Kendra and Seth looked over at the bed, where they saw their father and Dale holding down Warren. This time, however, Warren appeared to have a sock stuffed in his mouth.

"Get out of here!" hissed Dale.

"Get out of here?" asked Seth. "Gee. You and Dad are holding Warren down against his will. Mom threatened us with a knife. And our grandparents are chasing us! Why on Earth should I listen to you?"

"Don't be difficult, Seth!" snarled Mr. Sorenson.

"What do we do now?" asked Kendra, looking at the knife in her hand. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"At least get rid of that knife," said Ingrid.

Nodding, Kendra opened the sock drawer of Warren's dresser and slipped the knife into it. "Well, since Dad and Dale are on different sides of the bed, the three of us should be able to gang up on one of them."

"Stop!" said Grandpa, as he, Grandma and Mrs. Sorenson all stood behind Kendra, Seth and Ingrid, now blocking the doorway.

"Charge!" shouted Seth, as he and his two sisters both rushed at Mr. Sorenson, tackling him all at once. The impact of the three siblings forced their father to let go of Warren, as they pushed him against the wall.

"Stop it!" shouted Mr. Sorenson, trying to push his way back from against the wall.

Not that he had one hand free, Warren used it to punch one of Dale's arms. The force of the blow caused Dale to let go, and Warren bolted from the bed.

"Warren!" exclaimed Kendra. "Are you okay?"

Warren's voice was muffled for a moment, until he pulled the sock out of his mouth that have been shoved in there against his will.

"Oh my god," said Warren, "Thank you!"

"What happened?" asked Seth.

"I dunno! Everyone's just acting cuckoo, and I have no idea why!"

At this point, all five of the other adults stood around Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren.

"What do we do?" asked Ingrid.

"I dunno," replied Kendra. "I wish Bracken were here. He'd know what was going on."

Warren proceeded to rip a sheet from off of his bed, then tossed it over Grandpa, Grandma and Mrs. Sorenson, effectively draping them. "Let's get out of here! While they can't see us!"

As Grandpa, Grandma and Mrs. Sorenson struggled to pull off the sheet that had encased them, Kendra, Seth Ingrid and Warren scurried around them, narrowly avoiding both Mr. Sorenson and Dale. They sped out of the room and into the hall.

"Now what?" asked Ingrid. "How do we stop everyone from acting this way?"

"We need to think of a plan," said Warren, as he charged down the stairs to the first floor. "And it's hard to do that when half of your family is trying to kill you!"

As Kendra, Seth and Ingrid rushed down the stairs, they could hear the rest of their family marching along the second floor hallway towards them.

"Let's get out of here!" said Kendra, as she opened up the front door. She then passed onto the front porch, followed by Ingrid, Seth and Warren, who slammed the door shut behind him.

"The dragons!" said Warren. "They're strong, loyal and best of all, they're nearby. Hopefully they can help us deal with the others. Whatever's happened to them."

"What exactly _has_ happened to them?" asked Ingrid, as they followed Warren off the porch and around the side of the house.

"Something _strange_..." replied Warren.

Seth immediately felt his heartbeat growing more and more violent within his chest. He figured that he must have had some connection with all of this. But how?

Just before the group reached the back of the house, Dale came out from behind the corner, aiming a shotgun he had been holding at them. He had clearly cut off the group by going out the back door. "Don't move!" he yelled. The foursome stopped dead in their tracks.

"Dale, put down the gun!" hissed Warren. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

At this point, the rest of the adults all stepped out from around the corner, standing next to Dale.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Seth.

"Don't ask questions!" snapped Grandpa.

"Run for it!" cried Warren, as he ran off, prompting Kendra, Seth and Ingrid to follow him through the yard, heading in the direction of the dragon's lair.

Suddenly, Kendra found herself being tackled from behind, causing her to fall to the ground, with a large, heavy body pressing down on her back. It was Dale.

"Dale, please stop!" cried Ingrid.

"Come on," said Seth, pointing towards the dragon's lair, the entrance to which was no more than fifty feet away from this point.

You take one more step, and I'll shoot Kendra," said Dale, as he positioned the barrel of his gun at Kendra's head. It was at this point that Kendra wished that she had remembered about the fairies while they were still by the house.

"Don't you DARE hurt my sister!" growled Seth.

"If you're not with us, you're against us," said Grandma. "Now, if you three _don't_ want Kendra to be shot, line up over there. NOW!"

"Come on," said Warren, speaking very softly. "We don't have a choice."

Seth, Ingrid and Warren walked over to the spot where Grandma had been pointing.

"It makes sense that some of you were not affected," said Mrs. Sorenson. "But as for Ingrid, I can't really put my finger on her."

"But we're going to change that," said Mr. Sorenson. "Ingrid, you come to us! That's an order."

"But, why?" asked Ingrid.

"Don't be difficult!" said Grandpa, as he gestured for Ingrid to come towards him.

"NO!" bellowed Ingrid. "I'm _not_ leaving Seth and Warren! You can't make me!"

"Do it, or we'll..."

"What's going on here?" asked a familiar voice from nearby. The voice was then followed by hooves trotting along the grass.

Everyone looked over, and saw Stargleam and Windshear galloping towards where everyone had gathered.

"We heard shouting..." said Windshear. "And then a bunch of fairies got our attention.."

"Dale!" gasped Stargleam. "What are you doing to Kendra?"

"Stay out of this!" hissed Grandpa. "Or Dale will shoot you!"

"The adults have been possessed!" exclaimed Ingrid. "Help!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" roared Grandma.

"We're not going anywhere!" blurted Windshear. "Stargleam! NOW!"

Suddenly, Stargleam's horn began to glow red. Before anyone could react, a beam of red energy spiralled out of her horn, which shot directly into Dale. The impact knocked Dale away from Kendra, and back into the other four adults.

"You can't beat us!" gasped Grandpa, as Stargleam's energy beam exerted itself upon him and the rest of the adults. They all appeared to be stuck in some sort of trance, as they were not doing anything to move from their position.

"Is that all you've got?!" said Grandma. "You'll never win!"

At that moment, Windshear unfurled his wings, and they exerted a brilliant purple glow. At that moment, Stargleam's beam began to glow far more vibrantly.

"NO!" screamed Mr. Sorenson. "NO!"

A moment later, Stargleam's horn and Windshear's wings stopped glowing, bringing the beam to a halt. The five adults, who had been caught in the beam, all collapsed to the ground.

"Are they okay?" asked Kendra, as she scooted over to where the adults were all huddled.

"Mom?" asked Seth, as he and the others joined Kendra. "Dad? Everyone? Are you all right?"

"Oh my god," said Grandpa, as he placed a hand against his forehead. "I can't believe what just happened."

"We're okay now, Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she and the other adults all stood up. "But we couldn't control ourselves."

"Kendra," said Dale, as he wrapped his arms around her. "I am _so_ sorry if I hurt you."

"Please understand," said Grandma, before Kendra could utter a response, "all of us were acting strangely, and we don't know why."

"If it hadn't have been for Stargleam and Windshear," said Warren, "I don't know what we would've done. They're the real heroes here."

"Will you folks be okay?" asked Stargleam.

"I don't know," replied Grandpa. "But we're going to have an emergency meeting right now."

"Understood," said Windshear. "We'll stay on guard nearby, just in case."


	20. After Dark

**Chapter 20: After Dark**

Still gathered outside the house, the group proceeded to walk through the yard, heading in the direction of the dragons' lair. As they were still currently wearing their nightclothes, many members of the family had gone outside barefoot, including Seth.

Soon the group entered the lair of the dragon family at the end of the yard. A fairly small cave, the five dragons who inhabited it were currently all curled up in sleeping positions.

"Are you sure we should wake them?" asked Grandma.

"We need Geminus' help," said Grandpa, as he walked over to where Geminus was sleeping. He then placed his hand upon the fairy dragon's pink snout and gently rubbed it.

In response to Grandpa, Geminus shook her head around for a moment, then opened her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked wearily.

"Something is very wrong with Seth," said Grandpa. "I know its very late, but because you're part fairy, we need your help figuring out what it is."

Geminus let out a heavy yawn, which ultimately transgressed into and ended as a soft growl. "Should we wake up the others, too?"

"I'd rather we didn't," said Warren, shaking his head. "We only need your help right now. And you dragons have had a very long day. Let them sleep."

"I understand. Let's get out of here so that we don't bother the others."

The group exited the cave, and made their way across the lawn, towards the patio furniture at the back of the house, where all of the humans sat down.

"So what's this all about?" asked Geminus. "Why ever did you wake me up at this hour?"

"It has to do with Seth," said Kendra, as she proceeded to tell Geminus about what had transpired in the house just recently.

"If Stargleam and Windshear hadn't shown up, I don't know what we'd have done," said Ingrid.

"It's hard to believe that Seth could've caused all this," said Geminus. "But after hearing about that dark crystal, I can't say I'm too surprised."

"Can you examine Seth?" asked Grandpa. "With no proper fairy angels currently on the preserve, you're the closest thing we have, seeing as how you were brought up as a fairy guardian."

"Of course," said Geminus, as she stepped in front of Seth. "Hopefully, this won't take very long."

Seth watched as Geminus held out her claws in front of him. A pink aura then emitted from her her claws, which enveloped itself around Seth.

"Is this safe?" asked Seth, as the pink aura gave him a tingling feeling in his bones.

"I'm just sensing you," replied Geminus. "I do not intend to inflict any harm upon you. However, given your current situation, I'm afraid that I cannot make any promises."

Everyone waited around for a moment, until Geminus lowered her claws away from Seth, allowing the aura that she had conjured up to suddenly fade away. Once it was gone, Seth felt pretty normal again.

"Well, how is he?" asked Mr. Sorenson.

Geminus shook her head. "This doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

"The darkness within Seth feels different now, compared to when Seth initially returned from the Demon Domain. In a sense, it has grown stronger since then."

"But... how?" asked Seth. "I don't _feel_ any different!"

"I must confess that I don't understand too much about dark energy," said Geminus. "I'm not an umbrakinetics expert."

"Regardless," said Grandpa, "whatever the reason is for the darkness growing stronger, it's obviously what caused us adults to revolt."

"About that," said Kendra. "What was it like? Why _did_ you folks act the way you did?"

"We don't understand the technicalities of it," replied Grandma. "We were just overwhelmed with a desire to perform terrible, manipulative actions. Deep down, we knew that it was wrong. However, the darkness that had infected us strongly trounced our desire to stop. We couldn't help ourselves. It's why we tried to capture you and even threatened to kill you. We fought against it by simply trying _not_ to kill anyone. But it was hard."

Ingrid raised a hand. "The darkness within Seth is still there, right? So, why isn't he affecting anyone now?"

"I don't know," replied Geminus. "Perhaps the darkness only expands while Seth's asleep. Or others are just more susceptible to it while _they're_ asleep."

"But, why were only some of you affected by the darkness?" asked Seth.

"Kendra is fairykind. Therefore, it's understandable that she was probably protected by the darkness due to her own innate power."

"And I'm fairystruck," said Warren. "I know it's not much to go on, but it still may have been enough for the darkness to not affect me."

"And what about Ingrid?" asked Seth. "She's a normal human, just like the others. But she wasn't affected."

"I have two theories about that," said Geminus. "One is that since she sleeps further from Seth than the other members of the household, especially in the attic, the darkness hadn't gotten to her by that point. The other is that since she sleeps within close proximity to Kendra, her fairykind power shielded her from the darkness.

"I feel awful about what happened," said Seth. "But I don't know what I do to cause it in the first place. Honest!"

"It's a good thing Stargleam and Windshear were able to fell the darkness that had infected us," said Grandpa.

"I'm just grateful we were able to help," said Windshear.

"I don't get it," said Ingrid. "I understand how Stargleam was able to direct her light energy against the darkness. But how did Windshear help? He just stood there and unfurled his wings."

"I can answer that," said Dale. "You see, pegasi, and angels, for that matter, are incapable of exerting raw light energy in the same manner as fairies and unicorns. However, what they can do is enhance the light energy within those who are around them. When they do this, they can provide a phenomenal source of light power, although it doesn't always work."

"I get it," said Seth. "It's like when we were unable to restore Clover after she had been turned into an imp. The light energy of the fairies wasn't powerful enough. However, Hope and Air Flair's power was able to do the trick."

"Correct," said Warren. "They were able to enhance the light energy within Clover in a way that no fairy or unicorn could do. And because of that, Hope and Air Flair were able to restore her."

"Exactly," said Windshear. "By lending my power to Stargleam, I was able to provide her with the power necessary to overwhelm the darkness that was lingering within everyone."

Seth stared at Windshear in complete awe. "You're really that powerful?"

Windshear nodded. "It's hard to explain. But, it's an ability that pegasi and angels possess."

"With that much power, Stargleam should've aimed her energy beam at me. Would've made things a lot easier."

"How can you say that?" asked Geminus. "If such a concentrated amount of light energy were to flow into your body, in your current state... There's no telling _what_ it could've done to you!"

"But... this just isn't fair!" snapped Seth.

"Seth, there's nothing we could've done about this," said Stargleam. "I'm sorry."

"I just want to be _cured_ of this darkness already! I've had it! I've had it!"

Seth proceeded to bang his fist down against the surface of the table.

"I don't know _what_ we can do with you at this point," said Grandpa. "The way you are now... Merely going to sleep presents a huge problem."

"That's why I need to be cured of this darkness already! It's become a bigger problem than any of us can handle."

"Seth, it's going to be okay," said Ingrid, as she proceeded to pat Seth on his back.

"No, Ingrid," said Grandma, prompting Ingrid to pull her hand away.

"What gives?" asked Seth.

"Seth..." said Grandpa, "your grandmother is right. I don't know how else to explain this... but now that you have that darkness crystal within you, you've become... a liability."

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" asked Seth. "You people are my family. If I can't so much as be around _you_... then... who _can_ I be around?"

"I don't know. But for now, we were only susceptible to you while we were all asleep. And it only seemed to affect unprotected people within your vicinity."

"Are you saying... that I can't so much as _sleep_ in the same house as everybody else?"

"To put it bluntly," replied Grandpa. "Yes. I'm sorry, Seth. But you saw just how problematic tonight has been."

"Great," said Seth in a stubborn voice.

"Seth, we completely sympathize with you and everything," said Grandma. "But until we find a way to control this enhanced darkness that dwells within you, we need to find an alternative place for you to sleep."

"It's too bad my cabin is gone," said Warren. "You could've had the place to yourself. Plus it was protected by the same treaty that protects the house."

"Again, _another_ problem that can be traced back to me!" grumbled Seth. "Now it's come back to bite me!"

"How about the dungeon?" asked Kendra.

"The dungeon? Gee, _thanks_ , Kendra."

"Actually, Kendra raises a good point," said Dale. "The dungeon suppresses all dark energies contained within. And it keeps external energies out. Maybe the dungeon wouldn't be such a bad place for you, Seth."

"The dungeon contains a furnished cell," said Kendra. "You know, it's the one that Vanessa stayed in when we were suspicious of her."

"Ah, that cell," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Despite its location, it's not the worst place you could be. And we probably wouldn't even have to keep the door locked, because you as person, are not a threat."

Grandpa shook his head. "I appreciate your concern for Seth's well-being, everyone. Alas, if Seth's power is increasing uncontrollably, then perhaps the dungeon is not an ideal place for him."

"Why not?" asked Seth.

"The dungeon restrains darkness. They're no denying that. But Seth's current situation is another story."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ingrid. "You've had some pretty powerful monsters down there in the past that I've heard tales about."

"True," said Grandpa. "But their power was not gradually growing stronger. They didn't have darkness crystals embedded within them. If we were to keep Seth down there, what's to stop the darkness that's in him from increasing to a point where the dungeon couldn't contain it? The safeguard that governs the dungeon could fail, allowing all of the monsters down there to break free and run rampant!

"That _would_ be a problem" said Grandma. "I understand where you're coming from, Stan."

"This is just great," said Seth. "I've got no one who can help me, and nowhere to go!"

"What about the old manor?" asked Warren. "We did furnish it up after Zzyzx, but we've never had to use it, since the Larsons ultimately remained at Living Mirage."

"Of course!" said Grandpa. "I practically forgot all about it! There's no one there who can bother Seth, or vice-versa!"

"Really?" asked Seth. "You think it'll work?"

"At this point, what have we got to lose?"

"But, my darkness. Even if there's no one around, it'll probably still keep growing while I sleep."

"I've got an idea," said Geminus. "If Seth goes to the old manor, I can try placing a protective barrier around him. It might not stop the darkness at its source, but it should keep it from spreading."

"It can't hurt," said Mr. Sorenson.

"This sounds pretty good," said Seth. "Let me just grab my stuff and we can head over there."

Seth went back into the house and gathered a few of his belongings together in a bag. Namely, a change of clothes, toiletries and a few personal things. He then came out of the house, where the others were were waiting for him.

"All right, Seth" said Geminus. "I'm ready to take you to the old manor now."

"Okay," said Seth, as he climbed up onto Geminus' back. Dale then climbed up behind Seth and sat behind him. "Dale, how come you're coming?"

"We felt that you could use a chaperone," said Grandma. "And Dale's invested a fair amount of time into fixing up the old manor."

"Exactly," said Dale. "But don't worry. Once you get settled in, I'll be on my way."

"Good night, Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"We'll see you in the morning," said Mr. Sorenson.

"See ya," said Kendra, who felt disappointed that her brother had to abruptly leave the house in the middle of the night.

As the rest of the family bid Seth farewell, Geminus began to fly up into the air. She then soared across the forest, following a pathway that ran through the trees. A moment later, Geminus came down towards the old manor and landed close to the front porch.

"Thanks, Geminus," said Dale, as he and Seth climbed down from the fairy dragon.

With no riders on her back, Geminus then allowed herself to shrink down into her diminutive fairy form.

"Come on," said Dale, as he walked up the steps to the front door of the old manor, "let's get you to bed."

Seth looked up at the front of the old manor. Ever since its restoration, the mansion actually struck Seth as a pleasant, vibrant place to visit; hardly the decrepit, run-down residence where he nearly got trounced by Ephira Burgess.

Seth and Geminus followed Dale up to the front door of the manor, which Dale unlocked using a key he had brought with him. They then entered the entry hall, which was dark until Dale flicked on a light switch, causing the chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling to illuminate the vast room.

Dale then led Seth up the stairs to the second floor, and then entered a bedroom. Having never had much reason to visit the refurbished manor, Seth had never seen much of the improved upstairs. Once Dale turned the light on, Seth saw that the bedroom they had entered was full of brand-new contemporary furniture, as opposed to the vintage antiques he had seen in the past.

"Good thing the bed's already made," said Dale, as he pulled down the covers of the queen-sized bed. "You can just hop right in and go to sleep."

Seth climbed into the bed and drew the sheet over his body. The bed was in fact pretty cozy. Perhaps even nicer than his bed back at the main house.

"Comfortable?" asked Dale.

"Why do we never come here?" asked Seth. "This place rocks!" Seth then placed his hand down on the night stand and wiped a layer of dust that he had just noticed off of it.

"As you can see, it's still quite a bit of work to maintain."

"Seth, are you sure that you have everything you need?" asked Geminus.

"I'm just here to sleep," replied Seth. "As long as I have a comfortable bed, I'm all set."

"Good to hear," said Dale. "We're gonna go now. As long as there's no one else around, there shouldn't be any more problems. Remember, you can always call us if there's a problem, and one of us will be right over."

"Thanks," said Seth.

"Before we leave, I'll place a protective spell over Seth, just to be safe," said Geminus.

The pink fairy waved her hands in the air, then shot a blast of pink energy at Seth. Seth experienced a tingly feeling for a moment, but it then went away.

"What'd you just do?" asked Seth.

"My enchantment is in place, "said Geminus. "It's invisible, but it should stop the darkness that's within you from becoming any worse."

"Thanks!"

"Well," said Dale, as he let out a yawn, "if you're all set, I think we'll be heading back now. Good night, Seth!"

"Goodnight," said Geminus, as she followed Dale back towards the entrance to the room. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," said Seth, as Dale switched off the overhead light on his way out of the room.

Now that Seth was alone in the dark, Seth closed his eyes, listening as Dale's footsteps made their way down the hall and then down to the first floor. A moment later, he heard the front door opening up, only to be shut then locked a moment later.

* * *

Several hours later, Seth found himself being woken up again. As he opened his eyes, Seth could tell that it was now day, as light was flowing in through the window. He then looked up and could see that Grandpa was shaking his arm. But Grandpa wasn't alone. The rest of his family was there, along with Raxtus and Geminus in their fairy forms.

"Hey..." groaned Seth, who was still feeling groggy. "What gives? I'm trying to sleep!"

"Seth," said Grandpa. "We have a problem."

"I think he means to say, _you_ have a problem," said Kendra. "And it affects all of us."

"A problem?" asked Seth, as he sat up against the headboard of the bed. "What problem? I thought I was here by myself! What compelled all of you to come over to the old manor?"

"Seth..." said Geminus. "The manor is protected by the same treaty that protects the house. Or at least, it was..."

"What do you mean?"

"That protective enchantment I placed on you last night is gone! And the barrier that protects the manor? Also gone!

"But why?" asked Seth. "What happened?"

Raxtus shook his head. "I hate to say it. But, _you_ came here. You came here, and the darkness within you nullified both Geminus' protection and the estate barrier. _That's_ what happened."

"But how?"

"The darkness within you," replied Geminus. "It's growing. It's getting worse. We need a solution. And we need it now."


	21. Overflow

**Chapter 21: Overflow**

Having all gathered together in the old manor, the rest of the family made their way back downstairs. While they were gone, Seth freshened up in the bathroom, then changed into a fresh set of clothes that he had brought over with him the previous night.

When Seth came down the stairs, he saw that Bracken had now joined the rest of his family, all of whom were waiting for him in the manor's entry hall.

"Bracken," said Seth, "when did you get here?"

"Just now," replied the unicorn prince.

"Allow us to explain," said Raxtus. "I was briefed on your current situation just after I had been woken up. Now that morning had come, Dale and I came here to check on you. But the moment we reached the boundary surrounding the old manor, I noticed something was amiss. It was gone! The protective magic upheld by the treaty that should be protecting this house was completely gone!"

"In other words, any creature on this preserve could've entered the grounds surrounding this manor," noted Grandpa. "The same thing likely would've happened had you been staying back at the main house with the rest of us. Fortunately, I don't have reason to believe that any of them actually crossed the border, as the creatures are already so used to a barrier protecting this place that they never attempted to do so since it went down."

"But why did Geminus' barrier fail?" asked Ingrid.

"I don't know," replied Geminus, shrugging her head. "I didn't realize that it wouldn't be powerful enough!"

"That's precisely why I was summoned here," said Bracken.

"Raxtus nodded. "The moment I noticed that the barrier was gone, I rushed back to the house to tell the others. Before going back though, we told Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod to travel to the Fairy Kingdom and alert Bracken."

"Bracken," said Seth, "what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to examine you again," replied Bracken. "Just by being near you, I can sense that the darkness within your body has increased since yesterday. And as long as we're all here, I might as well do it now."

"Can we have breakfast first? I'm kinda hungry."

"We can eat when we get back to the house," said Grandma.

"This'll only take a moment," said Bracken. "Please bear with me and take a seat."

Seth sighed, then walked over to a plush sofa that was positioned in front of a wall, where he sat down.

"Are you sure you can do this alone?" asked Kendra.

"I'm sure I'll manage," replied Bracken. "Okay. Here goes."

Standing before Seth, Bracken extended his arms. A rainbow-colored beam of energy shot out of each of Bracken's hands and towards Seth. However, before the beams could so much as make contact with Seth, they instead ricocheted away from the shadow charmer's body.

"Hey, easy with that!" exclaimed Ingrid, as a beam shot right past her face.

"It's harmless to someone like you, Ingrid," said Geminus. "But _why_ it happened... That's not good at all."

"The beams aren't even touching me," said Seth, as Bracken ceased his energy exertion, lowered his hands.

"This is bad," said Bracken, who was wearing a blank look on his face. "This is **VERY** bad."

Bracken stepped away Seth, cautiously backing away from him, until he sat down on a chair against the opposite wall of the entry hall.

"How bad is it?" asked Kendra. "Why are you so worked up?"

"The darkness within Seth has grown substantially since yesterday."

"We know _that_ ," said Ingrid.

"That's exactly the problem," said Bracken. "The darkness appears to be growing stronger and stronger."

"What are you getting at?" asked Seth. How strong is it going to get?"

"I don't know. Right now its gotten to the point where, just while you were sleeping, it was powerful enough to dispel the barrier protecting this old manor. And from what I understand, when you were back at the main house, it didn't have any affect on the barrier, even though it was strong enough to cause members of your family to turn rogue."

"Imagine if you had stayed at the house," said Grandpa. "Not only would it have affected the rest of us again, but possibly Ingrid as well, even if she was with Kendra."

"I could've succumbed to it too," said Warren.

"Not to mention the barrier would've fallen there as well," said Grandma.

"It could've even affected the magic protecting the dungeon," said Grandpa. "Good lord, could you imagine the chaos that would've ensued had such a thing happened?"

"It's a good thing you didn't end up sleeping in the dungeon," said Mr. Sorenson.

"Bracken," said Seth. "How bad is this darkness going to get?"

"I can't really tell," replied Bracken. "But I do know that it's continuously growing, with no sign of slowing down. And I don't believe that light energy, at least the amount I can provide, is powerful enough to counter it."

"You're saying that the darkness could just keep getting stronger and stronger?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

Bracken, who looked as though he had just seen a ghost, nodded. "Seth still has control over his mind, thankfully. But that can only go so far. If the darkness gets too strong, then it can, and will take over his body completely."

"What'll that mean?" asked Ingrid.

"Seth will lose his moral conscious. He will lose his heart and soul. He will become a being of darkness. Seth will no longer see us as his friends and family."

"No!" exclaimed Seth. "I won't let it."

Bracken shook his head. "I'm sorry, Seth. But I'm not going to sugarcoat the truth here. The darkness within you, like it or not, is growing stronger, and I don't know of any way whatsoever to stop it. And even if, no... _when_ your morality crosses the line, it will _still_ keep expanding. The range of its influence will only keep growing and growing."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" asked Seth. "Move to a deserted island? I'd still be a lost cause!"

"Even if you were to relocate to a deserted island, it still wouldn't stop the darkness from expanding. At the rate its going, the darkness would expand across the water, harming all the marine life it comes across, and ultimately reach land. And it would still keep going."

"Forget an island," said Kendra. "You'd need your own planet!"

"That's the problem," said Bracken. "If the darkness within Seth keeps on growing the way it has been so far, it _could_ encompass the entire planet. Nowhere on Earth, or eventually, even the known universe, would be safe."

"What about the Fairy Kingdom?" asked Ingrid. "If we can't stop the darkness, could we at least seek refuge there? It's in another dimension."

"The darkness could still penetrate the dimensional barrier. Which would be entirely possible once this entire dimension is overflowing with darkness."

"What are we supposed to _do_?" asked Ingrid.

"We stop Murdred," said Seth, as he made a glowering look on his face. "NOW! I don't care what it takes!"

"Stopping Murdred isn't going to _stop_ the darkness from spreading," said Bracken.

"The Singing Sisters! If we rescue them, maybe they can discover a way to help me!"

"Seth, just breaching Murdred's castle is trying to bite off more than we can chew," said Warren. "If we had been able to do that in the fist place, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Is there anyone we can go to for help _besides_ the Singing Sisters?" asked Ingrid.

"Agad," said Grandpa, raising a hand. "I can't guarantee that he will be able to help with this predicament. However, he's still the most magically-inclined individual whom we can trust. If he is unable to provide any insight, I don't know who else can."

Seth took in a deep breath. "I hope he can help me. But, what are we supposed to do if he can't?"

"We'll think of something," replied Grandma.

"But... what if you can't?"

"I'm afraid that I don't have an answer for that question," replied Bracken, shaking his head in disappointment. "But, at this point, you might as well bank your luck on visiting Agad."

"Let's go back to the house," said Grandpa. "I'll contact the Larsens at Living Mirage, explain the situation to them, and let them know that you'll be coming by to see Agad."

Everyone made their way out of the manor and into the surrounding yard, where Skyfrost and Firesquall had been waiting around.

"Seth!" exclaimed Skyfrost. "Is it true? Is the darkness within you... getting _worse_?"

"It is," replied Bracken, as Raxtus and Geminus returned to their dragon forms.

"But... why?" asked Firesquall.

"We'll explain everything to you boys in a moment," said Raxtus. "Right now, we just need to get everyone back to the main house."

"Seth, you can't really be turning _dark_ , can you?" asked Skyfrost, as the shadow charmer climbed up onto the blue wyvern's back.

"I don't _feel_ dark, but there's too much evidence that says otherwise," replied Seth.

Once everyone had gotten on a dragon, all of whom were carrying at least two passengers, the group flew back towards the main house and landed in the yard. The humans and Bracken then got off the dragons went back into the house.

"I'm just gonna get a few things together," said Warren, as Seth sat down on the couch. "Then we'll be off."

Seth stared blankly at the ceiling, paying zero mind to anyone else who tried to grab his attention. He didn't know what would transpire upon meeting up with Agad. He was a powerful wizard, sure. But, for all his talent, he was by no means a master of dark magic.

"Ready to go, Seth?" asked Warren, who was standing by the entrance to the living room, with his bag slung over one shoulder. Bracken was also standing next to him.

"I guess," said Seth, as he sighed, got up from the couch and walked over to where Bracken and Warren were.

"Who else is going?" asked Ingrid.

"Just Seth, Warren and myself," replied Bracken. "No offense, but this is visit is strictly for enquiry purposes only."

"I hope you'll be okay, Seth," said Ingrid, as the rest of her family all nodded in compliance.

"We should be fine," said Warren. "Even if Agad is unable to help us, I don't anticipate any danger. However, I have armed myself as a precaution."

"Good luck, Seth," said Kendra. "Hopefully, there's a solution to all of this."

"Hopefully," said Seth. "That's all everyone's been saying. It doesn't ensure anything."

Warren sighed, as he twisted the Translocator and held it out before Seth and Bracken. "Come on, Seth. Let's get going. At least you'll get to see your other grandparents!"

Once Seth and Bracken had each placed a hand on the Translocator, Warren twisted the artifact again. Suddenly, Seth found himself being hurled through space, as his body was instantly hurled halfway around the world.

Seth opened his eyes, and discovered that he was now standing in a large, open room, akin to the entry hall of a castle. This was it. He, Bracken and Warren had traveled back to Living Mirage. Although he had seen his maternal grandparents a few times since, the last time he had business here was when he went to visit the Sphinx.

"Seth Sorenson!" shouted a voice from one end of the room. Seth and his allies turned their heads to see both Grandpa and Grandma Larsen standing in front of the entrance to a hallway.

"Grandpa Hank!" exclaimed Seth. "Grandma Gloria!"

Seth proceeded to dash over to his maternal grandparents, then gave each of them a hug.

"It's nice to see you again," said Grandma Larsen. "Although I wish it could've been under... more favorable circumstances."

"Your Grandpa Stan explained everything to us just now," said Grandpa Larsen.

Warren and Bracken joined up with Seth's grandparents, and they proceeded to greet each other.

"Well, there's no time to waste," said Grandma Larsen. "We'd offer you something to eat, but we understand the the pressure you're under."

"Come to think of it, I haven't even had breakfast!" exclaimed Seth.

"Of course," said Grandpa Larsen. "The timezone difference!"

"Come with me," said Grandma Larsen. "I'll take you to Agad's chamber. And while you're with him, we'll whip up something for you to eat."

"Munch on this for now," said Bracken, as he snapped his fingers, causing three glossy gala apples to magically appear in his hands. He then offered an apple each to Seth and Warren.

"Thanks," said Seth, as he accepted the apple and took a bite out of it. It was scrumptious.

"I'll take you to Agad," said Grandma Larsen. "Hank will be in the kitchen getting some breakfast together for you three."

Seth followed Grandma Larsen down a hallway, while the others went down another route. After turning around a corner and walking down another hallway, Grandma Larsen stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.

"Enter," came Agad's voice through the door.

Grandma opened the door, revealing the room that lay on the other side. Not much bigger than Grandpa's study back at Fablehaven, the quaint study consisted of bookshelves lining the side walls, as well as two couches with a coffee table between them. A large, silver mobile that resembled a gyroscope of some sort, hung from the ceiling. At at far end of the room was a large desk, which Agad was currently seated at.

"Ah, Seth," said Agad, as he got up from his seat and walked over to the group. "How have you been these past few months?"

"Well, I _was_ doing pretty good," replied Seth. "At least until _recently_."

"So I've heard. Bracken. Warren. Have you two been keeping well?"

"More or less," said Warren, as he took bite out of his apple. "Though I do miss Clover's company."

Bracken nodded in acknowledgement.

"Very well," said Agad. "But let's get down to business. From what Hank has told me, the situation sounds quite dire."

"We're just going by what Stan said," exclaimed Grandma Larsen. "Even with Seth here in front of us, we're unable to sense just how powerful the darkness within him even is."

"I believe that a proper inspection is in order," said Agad. "Seth, would you mind taking a seat on a couch over there?"

"Okay," said Seth, as he walked over to one of the couches and sat down. As the others walked over towards him, Seth took one final bite from his apple, then held up the chewed-up core, looking for somewhere he could place it.

"I'll take care of that," said Bracken, as he snapped his fingers, causing Seth's apple to vanish just as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Let's do this," said Agad, as he sat down on the couch opposite Seth. He raised his hands up into the air, palms facing out towards Seth. The wizard then closed his eyes, allowing a blend of white and purple sparks to flow out from his hands, which encompassed Seth's entire body.

"These things tingle!" grumbled Seth.

"Please do not move," muttered Agad, who appeared to be focusing, and remained completely still.

Seth did not enjoy keeping still while the sparkles circulated around his body. It almost felt like they were tickling him, and there was nothing he could do to get away from them.

Finally, after what seemed like an excruciatingly long time, but was actually only about a minute long, the sparkles that were flowing from Agad's hands disappeared. Agad then opened his eyes and lowered his hands.

"Well," said Seth, "how is it?"

A frown materialized on Agad's face. "Well, it's quite apparent that some external force of pure darkness had been embedded within the fabric of your soul."

"I know _that_! Is there any possible way to remove it?"

"I don't believe so," said Agad. "You see, the external darkness has been intertwined with your shadow charmer nature. From what I can tell, it is physically impossible to separate _it_ from _you_."

"Come on!" exclaimed Seth. "There's gotta be a cure or something!"

"There's no _cure_ that I'm aware of. I'm sorry."

"Why not?" asked Grandma Larsen. "Is there no way to vanquish the darkness within Seth?"

"Of course there's a way," replied Agad. "Only problem is, it would destroy Seth in the process."

"Look, you don't understand! " exclaimed Seth. "The darkness within me is growing stronger and stronger by the moment!"

"I'm aware of that. And from what I comprehend, not only is there no way to eliminate it, but there's also no way to restrain it from growing any more."

"What are you saying?"

"There's no solution to all of this," replied Agad. "As long are you're alive, the darkness within you is only going to keep getting worse and expanding. And if we try to counter it, we'll only end up hurting you, Seth."

"You're saying, I have to _die_ in order to fix everything?"

"Seth, no!" gasped Warren.

"I'm not proposing that we terminate your life, Seth," said Agad. "However, from what I've been able to theorize, it's the only idea I'm aware of that would eliminate this expanding darkness and retract it back to its source."

"Surely there must be another solution!" cried Grandma Larsen.

"I'm sorry," said Agad. "But even with all the power and knowledge that I possess, I know for a fact that the only way to stop this darkness is to destroy it at its source. However, I never would've imagined that said source would ultimately be someone whom I would consider an ally."

"Well, if you can't help us," said Bracken. "Who... _can_?"

At that moment, an idea popped up in Seth's head. "The Sphinx. He's a shadow charmer. Just like me. Please, if anyone can help me now, _he_ can."


	22. Sphinx Jinx

**Chapter 22: Sphinx Jinx**

Everyone who was presently in Agad's study stared at Seth in awe.

"The Sphinx?" asked Agad. "You really want to see... the Sphinx?"

Seth sighed. "I honestly don't know how reliable he'd actually be. But so far, nobody else seems to understand what to do with me."

"Seth, I don't know," said Grandma Larsen. "You of all people should know that the Sphinx is not exactly the most trustworthy individual we know."

"What do you even hope that the Sphinx will accomplish?" asked Bracken.

"The Sphinx has been a shadow charmer a lot longer than I have," said Seth. "And for all the knowledge that Agad and the fairy angels possess, there's one crucial thing they all lack that the Sphinx does have. Experience."

"You've got a point there," said Warren. "But, who's to say that the Sphinx would even be willing to help you? It's one thing for him to have an answer to your predicament. It's another thing entirely for him to actually tell the truth."

"I'm not too keen on the idea," said Grandma Larsen. "But I suppose we should at least consult with your Grandfather on this."

Grandma led everybody out of Agad's study, where she led the group down several winding hallways. They then entered a doorway, leading into the dining room of Living Mirage's residence.

Sitting at the table was Grandpa Larsen. On the table were several plates of cut up fruits, as well as bagels, jams, muffins, orange juice, several cereal boxes and a pitcher of milk.

"How'd it go?" asked Grandpa Sorenson.

"Not good," replied Agad, shaking his head.

Everyone then took a seat at the table, and went on to explain Agad's assessment of Seth to Grandpa Larsen, helping themselves to the food while others spoke. They eventually told him about Seth's desire to visit the Sphinx.

"You really want to consult the Sphinx on this?" asked Grandpa Larsen.

"Look," said Seth, "if we don't turn to the Sphinx, what are we supposed to do? Nobody else seems to have an answer."

"He has a point," said Agad. "There's only so much time left before the darkness within Seth will reach a point where it will no longer be tolerable."

"Is there no place that could contain him?" asked Warren.

"The Quiet Box," said Grandma Larsen. "It has the power to confine Seth. Potentially forever."

"No !" quipped Seth. "There's **no way** I'm going in _that_ thing!"

"Then what else are we supposed to do with you?" asked Grandpa Larsen. "No offense or anything. But you've become a very serious threat to the entire world! Sending you to the Quiet Box _would_ keep you safe. Not to mention it would keep everyone else safe from you."

"If you're suggesting the Quiet Box," said Warren, "then it sounds like you don't have any better ideas."

"If you've got a better idea, we'd like to hear it," said Bracken.

"Just let me pay a visit to the Sphinx," said Seth. "Maybe, just maybe, he'll be willing to help me. If he can't help, then he can't help. And if he does offer advice that sounds fishy, we'll just leave him be, forget whatever he tells us and pretend that we never spoke to him."

Grandma Larsen threw her arms into the air. "All right, Seth. "We'll grant you an audience with the Sphinx. But be careful."

"I'm not a little kid anymore! Stop treating me like one."

"We understand how you feel," said Grandpa Larsen. "It's just... we're concerned about you. We don't want to put you in the Quiet Box. And we won't do so if you don't want to go in there."

"We'll lead you to the Sphinx's room," said Grandma Larson. Follow us."

"I've got to get back to my study," said Agad. "Even though I don't have an answer for you at the moment, perhaps now that I've analyzed Seth, I can use that experience towards finding a solution."

"Understood," said Grandpa Larsen. "Take care."

Everyone got up from the table and made their way back into the hallway. Agad went off in one direction, heading back towards his study, while Grandma and Grandpa Larsen lead Seth, Warren and Bracken down the other way.

"The Sphinx can't do anything to Seth now, can he?" asked Bracken.

"He shouldn't," replied Grandpa Larsen. "Seth visited him in his cell before."

"Sure have," said Seth, thinking back to his previous visit to the Sphinx's cell. "That was almost an entire year ago. Last September. Remember? We were trying to get the Sphinx to tell us if he knew anything about Oblivion."

"Well, I don't remember, personally." noted Warren. "Then again, while you were visiting the Sphinx here, I was at Labrador Labyrinth, trying to recover the Translocator."

"How secure is the Sphinx's cell?" asked Bracken.

"Very powerful," replied Grandma Larsen. The magic that binds the cell together restrains the Sphinx's dark energies, rendering him completely powerless."

"However," added Grandpa Larsen, "the cell also does the Sphinx a favor."

"A favor?" asked Seth confusedly. "What favor?"

"It keeps him alive."

"Alive?"

"Absolutely," said Grandpa Larsen. "With the Font of Immortality no longer in his possession, the Sphinx would otherwise wither away due to his excessive age. However, the cell's magic emits a special life force that keeps the Sphinx alive, almost as if he had the Font of Immortality."

"If the cell's that powerful, who needs the Font of Immortality?" asked Seth.

"The Sphinx would," replied Grandma Larsen. "You see, the cell's power is limited only to the room itself. If the Sphinx were to so much as set foot outside of his cell, the magic that sustains him would be gone, and he would certainly perish within seconds."

"The Sphinx knows it, too," added Grandpa Larsen. "That's why he'll never attempt to try running out of his cell if the door is open. He's well aware of the fact that leaving the cell would lead to his death."

After making their way through several hallways, the Larsens stopped before a seemingly blank wall.

"Where now?" asked Seth, wondering why his Grandparents had seemingly come to a stop at a dead end.

Without responding, Grandpa and Grandma Larsen both faced the wall and proceeded to speak in an unintelligible language. Once they finished speaking, a section of the wall faded away, revealing a staircase that lead downwards. Now Seth remembered! This was the same passage Seth had traveled down on his last visit to see the Sphinx!

Seth, Warren and Bracken followed the Larsens down the stairs, which went down a considerable distance. At the bottom of the stairs was a door, guarded by two large creatures, both of which sported long, brown fur. On his previous visit, Seth had thought that they reminded him somewhat of bigfoot. And looking at them again, they still did.

"Hank and Gloria Larsen reporting," said Grandma Larsen. Let us through."

"Very well," said one of the creatures, as he gazed at Grandma Larsen intently, while the other did the same with Grandpa Larsen.

"You may enter," said the second creature, as he opened up the door that the two of them had been guarding.

Behind this next door was another stairway. As the group continued down it, Seth concluded that it was much longer than the first. Once they reached the bottom, they had arrived at another door. Grandpa proceeded to pull out a key and stuck it in the keyhole. Grandpa proceeded to twist the key first to the right, then back to the left. However, it didn't stop there, for Grandpa continued to twist the key in different directions continuously, almost as though he was entering a combination of some sort, and not because the key got stuck. Eventually, the lock clicked open, and Grandpa entered the door.

The group had now entered the actual dungeon of Living Mirage. Memories of being held prisoner in this place brought back memories, many of which were unpleasant thoughts. However, this was the same place where he had initially met Bracken, so there was at least some good that came from it.

Nevertheless, the dark vibes that Seth could feel pulsating from the doors throughout the hallway filled his mind with dreadful thoughts. Just being in this dungeon made Seth feel all sad and miserable inside.

"Take my hand," said Bracken, as he grabbed hold of Seth's left hand in his right.

"Mine too," said Warren, as he grasped onto Seth's other hand.

"This place takes some getting used to," said Grandma Larsen, as she and Grandpa Larsen lead the the three visitors down the cell block of the dungeon.

Once they reached the end of the hallway, Grandpa unlocked another door in a similar manner to the first. This door revealed another hallway, which contained no other doors, save for one at the very end.

"This is it," said Grandpa Larsen, as he and Grandma Larsen stopped in front of the door. "The Sphinx is right behind this door. "However, since we never got the chance to tell him you'd be coming, I'll go in first to explain things to him."

Grandpa Larsen proceeded to unlocked the door, then slipped inside and closed it behind him. About a minute later, he stepped back out.

"Okay," said Grandpa Larsen. "He's all yours, Seth. But please, be careful with him. He can be very deceptive."

"I know," said Seth. "Just let me in already."

"We're coming too," said Bracken, who was still holding Seth's hand, as was Warren.

Grandpa Larsen proceeded to open the door all the way, then stood to the side, next to Grandma Larsen. Together, Seth, Warren and Bracken all stepped into the Sphinx's cell.

Seth had forgotten just how nicely furnished the cell actually was. Much like the cell at Fablehaven that Vanessa had stayed in, the Sphinx's cell seemed less like a prison, and more like a posh studio apartment.

Sitting on a couch along the far wall of the cell was the Sphinx. Despite the extended duration between his previous visit and now, Seth's memories of the Sphinx came rushing back in a heartbeat the moment he laid eyes on the Sphinx's face.

"Come on," said the Sphinx. "Please, take a seat, Seth Sorenson."

Seth walked over to a plush seat that was facing the couch. Letting go of Warren and Bracken's hands, Seth sat down in the seat, which was unsurprisingly very soft.

"Uh, hi," said Seth. "Long time, no see."

The Sphinx nodded. "Your grandfather tells me that you are experiencing a sudden rush of dark energy surging through your body. And you've sought my help because I'm the only other shadow charmer whom you know. Correct?"

Seth nodded.

"Well, even as a shadow charmer myself, I can't say that your predicament is one that I personally have ever experienced."

"Let's just cut to the chase," said Warren. "Is there _anything_ you can do to help Seth?"

The Sphinx rubbed his forehead. "I'm not sure. As a shadow charmer, I normally have complete control over the darkness around me. But not in this dungeon. Still, it may be possible for Seth to somehow regulate the darkness that's within him."

"You mean it?" asked Seth.

"Hold on," said Bracken." How's Seth supposed to do that? "This darkness is unlike any other. If Seth could control it I'm sure he already would've."

"I may need to examine Seth," said the Sphinx. "I have a better understanding of how darkness works than anybody else here. If I can sense what's wrong with him, perhaps I can theorize a solution. Seth, please hold out your hands."

"Okay," said Seth, as he extended both of his hands before the Sphinx, palms facing upwards.

The Sphinx then held onto Seth's wrists. "Although my power is restrained within this room, I can still sense darkness. Already, I can get a feel of what exactly you've been going on about.

Suddenly, Seth felt overwhelmed by a bizarre feeling. He could feel energy coursing all through and body and flowing out of his arms. What was going on? Whatever it was, it did not feel right to Seth at all. Something was happening to both him and the Sphinx.

Seth tried to pull himself away from the Sphinx, but the Sphinx's grip on his wrists was too great.

"Hey, snapped Seth. "Let go of me!"

The Sphinx laughed, only to tighten his grasp on Seth.

"No!" gasped Bracken. "The darkness! It's spreading from Seth and into the Sphinx!"

"LET HIM GO!" roared Warren, as he slugged his fist directly into the Sphinx's face.

The Sphinx didn't so much as flinch. Instead, Warren backed away from the Sphinx. Saying nothing, Warren proceeded to curl up in a ball on the floor.

"What's going on in here?" asked Grandma Larsen, as she and Grandpa Larsen both entered the cell.

"WARREN!" cried Seth, who was still unable to free himself. He looked back at his grandparents, and saw that they too had curled up into balls as well.

"The darkness!" exclaimed Bracken. "It's growing too powerful!"

The Sphinx laughed, then pushed Seth against the couch he was sitting on with tremendous force, finally letting him out of his grasp as he stood up. However, the Sphinx was now giving off an intense black glow; his actual body was completely obscured by it.

"Thank you, Seth!" boomed the Sphinx in a deep, unrecognizable voice. "For granting me this great power!"

"No!" gasped Bracken. "Whatever this is... I won't let you!"

"SILENCE!" hollered the Sphinx, as he extended a hand at Bracken. A blast of dark energy shout out from the hand, nearly impacting Bracken.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Bracken, as he immediately transformed into a unicorn. Before his front hooves had even reached the floor, a beam of rainbow-colored energy spiraled out of his horn and collided with the Sphinx.

"You think that _your_ power can defeat me?" laughed the Sphinx, as light energy continued to flow into his body. "I'm all-powerful now!"

Bracken turned his head away from the Sphinx and instead opted to blast Warren with his light energy, then went back to aiming at the Sphinx.

"I'll destroy you all!" blared the Sphinx.

"I won't let you!" screamed Bracken.

"Bracken!" cried Seth. "No!"

Seth darted over towards Bracken, and attempted to push the unicorn's head away from the Sphinx, hoping to divert the energy that was flowing out of his horn.

"Get away from me, Seth!" snarled Bracken, as Seth attempted to push his head to the side, only for the unicorn to fight against him with his bare strength.

"Yes, Seth," said the Sphinx. "Stop Bracken. Let me live!"

"It's a trap!" cried Bracken. "Don't listen!"

"This ends now!" exclaimed Warren, who had not only gotten back up, but had placed his hand upon Seth's shoulder and swiftly pulled him away from Bracken.

Before Seth could react, Warren soon had Seth wrapped between both of his arms.

"Let me go!" screamed Seth. Stymied from all the sudden commotion that had been going on, Seth could only watch as more light energy flowed into the Sphinx's body.

A few seconds later, the Sphinx's entire body began to glow in a rainbow of colors, before ultimately exploding like a vibrant firecracker. At this point, energy ceased flowing out of Bracken's horn, and the unicorn lowered his head.

"No!" cried Seth. "No!"

Warren, who was hyperventilating heavily, finally let go of Seth. Seth immediately went over to where the Sphinx had been standing.

"Bracken," said Seth, who felt as though he was going to cry. "How could you?"

"I... I had to..." said Bracken. "He's in the Netherworld now. I'm sorry."

"But... why? I mean... how did this happen?"

"We have to give Bracken the benefit of the doubt," said Warren. "The darkness within the Sphinx had somehow grown too powerful. He was out of control."

Seth thought about the Sphinx for a moment. The man who had been terrorizing the group only a minute ago was now nothing more than a memory.

"Why did you hold me back, Warren?"

"I didn't know what else to do," said Warren. "The fear that he was emitting..."

"What happened in here?" asked Grandma Larsen, as she and Grandpa Larsen both stood up.

"The Sphinx!" gasped Grandpa Larsen. "Did you _destroy_ him?"

"Coming here," said Bracken, "was one huge mistake. But I never would've imagined that Seth merely being in the Sphinx's presence, in a secure room such as this... would end up this way."

"This is awful," said Grandma Larsen, looking at where the Sphinx had last been standing.

"He didn't deserve to die," said Grandpa Larsen. "Not like this."

"I don't understand it," said Grandma Larsen. "Why did the magic binding the spell that protects this cell not restrain the darkness that was within Seth?"

"It was simply too powerful," said Bracken. "More-so that we ever imagined. It was too powerful even for the Sphinx to handle. If I hadn't been here, then you, Warren, Hank and Gloria would've turned into creatures of darkness, instead of merely curling up the way they did. Not only that, but the Sphinx's darkness would've spread throughout the dungeon, enabling all the prisoners confined within the dungeon to break free."

"It had to be this way," said Warren. "Bracken's power could only go so far. It wasn't enough to properly stop the Sphinx. It could only destroy him."

"But, the Sphinx was the only shadow charmer we knew!" exclaimed Seth. "He could've helped me! Before he touched me, I could tell that he legitimately wanted to help me!"

Grandma Larsen placed a hand on Seth's shoulder. Paying his grandmother no heed, but still appreciating her sympathy, tears began to flow down from Seth's eyes.

"What am I going to do now?" sobbed Seth. "It's not fair! I just wanted the Sphinx's help! And instead? I caused him to turn into a monster, who would've single-handedly devastated this entire preserve, and possibly the world!"

"Seth, I'm very sorry about this," said Bracken.

"I'm not mad at you," mumbled Seth. "It's because of me that the Sphinx went rogue."

"It's not your fault," said Warren, as he proceeded to hug Seth. Bracken, Grandpa and Grandma Larsen all joined in on the hug as well. "And no matter what happens, we'll always love you."

"Let's go home," said Bracken. "This has been a very devastating experience for all of us."


	23. On a Wing and a Prayer

**Chapter 23: On a Wing and a Prayer**

Not long after the incident that had transpired with the Sphinx, Seth, Warren and Bracken had all bid Grandpa and Grandma Larsen farewell. Within minutes, they found themselves traveling back to the living room at Fablehaven via the Translocator.

Feeling devastated over what had happened, Seth immediately marched up the stairs to the second floor, entered his room, slammed the door and flaked out on his the bed, landing face first into his pillow.

Seth couldn't help but worry about what viable options were even left for him at this point. It felt as though every attempt they made at trying to comprehend the darkness that had been planted within him had ended in nothing but complete failure. It was as if fate would simply not allow him succeed in any way possible.

Thinking about everything that had gone on since Murdred had implanted the crystal within him, Seth completely lost track of time. He knew that the rest of his family was still downstairs, and were no doubt talking about what had happened in regard to the Sphinx.

At some point, Seth found that his train of thought was being derailed by somebody knocking on his door. Although Seth didn't give a response, the door opened up anyway. Seth pulled his face out of his pillow and turned his head to face the door. Standing at the entrance to his room were Bracken and Grandpa.

"Seth," said Grandpa. "I'm so sorry. Bracken and Warren told us everything."

"Now you know," began Seth, "that I've lost what may have been my only chance at having any guidance on what I should do about this darkness."

"Seth, you had the right intentions. This wasn't your fault."

"Of course it was my fault! I never should've gone to the Sphinx! If he hadn't made physical contact with me, none of this would've happened!"

"None of us saw this coming," said Bracken. "The Larsens assured us that powerful magic governed the Sphinx's cell. Up until, well... _this_ happened, the Sphinx was essentially powerless while within his cell. We just never figured that the power within you was already _that_ strong."

"Well my little visit to Living Mirage just cost a man his life," stated Seth. "Even when I try to be good, I fail! It feels like destiny that I can't succeed."

"I know you tried to find sympathy with the Sphinx," said Grandpa. "But, he _was_ a bad man. And look at how he was spending the previous year of his life. He was a prisoner who couldn't leave his home, ever. Perhaps it was just never meant to be."

"I don't care about all that! I just want help! And now nobody's able to give it to me!"

Seth got up from his bed and began to pace around his room.

"There must be _something_ we can do," said Bracken.

"Like _what?_ Your magic alone wouldn't be powerful enough. Need I remind you about what it did to the Sphinx? Stargleam needed Windshear's help in order to save the adults..."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Seth's head.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Why didn't I think of this sooner! Angels and pegasi are practically miracle workers, are they not? I mean, they were able to restore Clover when she was turned into an imp!"

Grandpa nodded, then scratched his chin. "You do bring up a good point, Seth. Your thoughts, Bracken?"

"I'm not sure," replied the unicorn. "I don't fully understand angel magic myself, but it _might_ work. My only concern is that by countering the darkness so directly, it could harm you, Seth."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," said Seth. "Seems like every other method we've looked into only leads to a dead end."

"Are you sure about this, Seth?" asked Grandpa.

"At this point, I don't care," said Seth. "I'm a danger to have around, wherever I go. And after what went on with the Sphinx, if death is the only thing that will stop the darkness from spreading... Yes, I'm sure about this. Whatever the outcome, I want to take the chance."

"Very well," said Grandpa. "I'll have a message sent to Hope. See if she'd be willing to help you."

A few minutes later, everyone had gathered outside in the yard. With them were the dragons, Stargleam and Windshear.

"Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson, "I hope you'll be okay. And I really hope your darkness doesn't befall Wingadoon somehow."

"I can't imagine why our power would ever harm someone," said Windshear. "As long as they're aren't inherently evil. It doesn't work that way."

"I don't see how they can make anything worse at this point," said Mr. Sorenson.

Warren then held out the Translocator and twisted. "Well, if you're ready to go, Seth."

"Come on," said Skyfrost, as Seth placed his hand on the Translocator. "Can't we come too?"

"Sorry," said Warren, "but we need to keep this simple. This is a job for angels and pegasi only."

"Aww," moaned Firesquall, as Bracken and Windshear also made contact with the Translocator.

At that moment, Warren twisted the artifact. Suddenly, Seth found himself being hurled through space by the magic of the Translocator.

When Seth opened his eyes, he saw that he, Warren, Bracken and Windshear were all standing in Wingadoon.

It had been Seth's first visit to Wingadoon in quite some time. They were standing atop a platform towards the highest point of the city, outside Hope's dome-roofed home, which was surrounded by a multitude of flora. Looking down over the ledge, Seth could see blocks upon blocks of other buildings, as well as more foliage, a river, and other landmarks along the landscape. Beyond the perimeter of the city, Seth could see clouds drifting across the open sky.

"Well, we might as well let Hope know we're here," said Bracken.

The group all walked up to the door to Hope's house. Seth rapped on it, and a few seconds later the door opened. Standing on the other side was Hope, the the gorgeous, blonde angel.

"Hi, everyone," said Hope, who sounded somewhat worried. "The fairies told me what happened. Are you okay, Seth?"

Unable to think of a response, Seth shook his head.

"You don't seem like a threat. Although, you are giving off an usually high level of darkness. More than normal, anyway."

"Seth needs help, fast," said Bracken. "Where's Air Flair?"

"She's down at the fairy shrine. Let's go now."

"I'll take you," said Windshear, as he lowered his wings and waited for Seth and Warren to climb up onto his back.

Hope then extended her wings and flew off of the platform, as did Windshear and Bracken, using his own magic to levitate. Seth looked down at the city below, as the group came down for a landing in a grassy park.

"There she is," said Warren, pointing ahead to where Air Flair was standing; a court of fairies were all floating around near the pink pegasus.

"Windshear!" exclaimed Air Flair, as the winged horse flew over toward the group. Seth and Warren proceeded to climb down from Windshear's back, just as the two pegasi greeted each other by rubbing their noses together.

"It's great to see you again," said Windshear.

"Warren!" cried an all-too familiar voice. "Seth! Bracken! Windshear!"

Coming from the direction where the other fairies were all gathered, it was none other than Clover, soaring through the air before she landed in front of Warren.

"Clover!" exclaimed Warren, as he gave the green-haired fairy angel a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine!" said Clover, as she gave Warren a kiss.

"Are the fairies here treating you well?" asked Bracken.

"They've been great. No complaints! But... I've heard the news about Seth. I'm sorry."

Seth groaned. "That's the entire reason we're even here."

"I'm not even sure if we're capable of helping you, Seth," said Air Flair.

"None of us are," said Hope. "But are we going to try. As an angel, I refuse to turn down a reasonable plea for help."

"How should we do this, then?" asked Windshear.

"Well, I suppose the best course of action would be for the three of us to stand in a circle around Seth."

"Got it," said Windshear, as he, Hope and Air Flair all positioned themselves around Seth and faced him, as Warren and Bracken both backed away.

"All right, you two. Now, stretch out your wings."

Seth looked around as Hope and the two pegasi all extended their wings outwards. Next, the trio all proceeded to close their eyes.

"Now then," continued Hope. "Lend Seth your power. Heal his soul. Care for him. Help him."

Suddenly, the wings of Hope, Air Flair and Windshear all began to emit intense glows. A moment later, Seth could feel an incredible feeling tingling throughout his entire body. He tried to move himself around, but he couldn't. It was if his body had become completely petrified. Only his head was free to move around; his arms and legs were frozen.

A moment later, the wings of Hope and the pegasi stopped glowing. Before anyone could react, Seth watched as Hope's wings flopped down, and the angel inexplicably collapsed in front of him. Now able to move his body again, Seth turned his head and saw both Windshear and Air Flair stumbling to the ground.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Warren, as he bent down next to Hope.

"Are you okay?" asked Clover, as she tended to Air Flair.

"Say something," said Bracken, who was looming over Windshear.

Hope, Windshear and Air Flair were all breathing heavily.

"What happened?" asked Seth, who could feel his heart beating furiously within his chest. "Oh no. This is all my fault!"

"We're okay, Seth," said Hope, speaking faintly. "Air Flair, Windshear. Are you okay?"

The two pegasi both gave a positive response.

"You don't _look_ okay," said Seth.

"I think we'll be fine," said Air Flair, as she stumbled back up onto her hooves. "But I think I speak for the three of us when I say that we exhausted ourselves."

"Doing what?"

"Helping you," replied Windshear. "At least, I hope we helped you."

"We lent our power to you," said Hope. "The same power that we used to restore Clover from when she was an imp."

"It worked for me," said Clover. "Now, let's see if it did the same for you. Bracken?"

Hope, Air Flair and Windshear all stepped away from Seth, allowing both Bracken and Clover to walk up in front of him.

"I can still feel the force of Hope and the pegasi lingering in the air," said Bracken. "But, let's see what we can do."

Bracken and Clover both extended their hands towards Seth. Seth watched as streams of both rainbow-colored and green sparkles flew out from their fingers and scattered themselves all over his body. A moment later, the sparkles all vanished, just as Bracken and Clover both lowered their hands.

"Well," said Seth. "How am I?"

Bracken shook his head. "I'm sorry, Seth. But the darkness that's within you... it's _still_ present."

"WHAT?" exclaimed Seth. "But why not?"

"I don't know, Seth," replied Hope. "I'm sorry."

"It's like nothing's changed," said Clover.

Seth winced. "Please, Hope! Windshear! Air Flair! Try your power again! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Seth," said Hope. "But we gave it everything we had. There's nothing more we can do."

"Great! Just great!"

Seth immediately turned his back towards the group and ran off through the park.

"Seth, come back!" cried Warren.

Seth continued through the park, but ultimately came to a stop once he arrived at the bank of river, one that passed through much of the city and connected to the waterfall closer to where Hope lived. Unable to continued running forward, Seth knelt down in front of the river and watched as the water slowly flowed past him.

"Seth," said Hope, as she flew down and landed next to him. "I'm sorry that we were unable to help."

"You were my last resort," said Seth, who proceeded to make a fist and smacked it down against the surface of the river. However, all Seth accomplished was making a subtle splash, drenching his hand in the process. "It's not fair. You were able to restore Clover from being an imp. Why can't you do the same for me?"

"It's hard to say," said Hope, as she placed her hand down upon Seth's shoulder. "My only guess is that the darkness that's bound to you carries a tremendous force. Far greater than the power that had tainted Clover."

"But your power did what an army of fairies couldn't," said Seth. "It seemed like your power was unparalleled."

"Seth, angelic magic works differently than fairy magic," said Clover. "It's not as reliable as fairy magic. But it has the potential to be far stronger. That's why it was able to restore me when fairy magic failed."

"Not only that," said Hope, "but the energy that had afflicted Clover was different than what's currently within you. Also, the magic that is within you is the work of demons. And as you know, demons are the antithesis to angels."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Seth.

"Using our power on your took its toll on us," said Air Flair. "But it wasn't enough."

"I'm very sorry, Seth," said Hope. " But between the pegasi and myself, there's only the three of us that are even known to exist. Perhaps if there were more members of our kinds. Maybe then we'd have the power to remove the darkness."

"This sucks!" growled Seth. "Why can't there be more angels and pegasi out there! Why? Right now I need their help more than ever!"

"We just don't have that kind of power," said Windshear. "Those days are gone. I'm lucky to still be alive! Aside from Air Flair, the rest of _my_ species is extinct! And no offense or anything, but it happened due to over-hunting by humans and demonic creatures."

"Windshear, please don't start with that," said Air Flair. "If it weren't for Seth, Kendra never would've discovered you, Stargleam and those fairies in Murdred's dungeon. They've helped all of us for the better."

"I know," mumbled Windshear. "I'm sorry. But outside of Fablehaven and the Knights of the Dawn, I do _not_ trust humans."

"People can change," said Bracken. "It may have taken many generations, but there are at least _some_ good people living down on Earth. More than there were back during the age of barbarians. People are smarter now. They know better. Sure, there's still a great number of bad people out there. But don't let them steer you away from those who are good."

"Seth Sorenson is a wonderful person," said Warren. "Shadow charmer or not."

"I know, I know," said Windshear. "Seth means a lot to me. All of you do. But the rest of my kind. They're all gone..."

"I've got an idea!" exclaimed Seth. "The Chronometer! We can use it to go back to ancient Wingadoon. Back to when it was still in its prime. When there were still many angels and pegasi residing here! Not only could they vanquish my darkness, but we could warn them and prevent their near-extinction from ever happening!"

"No," said Bracken. "We must never alter the past."

"But.. we could help them! And me!"

"Absolutely not," said Hope, shaking her head.

"Why not?" asked Seth.

"It would cause a paradox," replied Bracken. "By going back in time and blatantly changing history, it would cause drastic effect to the present. As great as it sounds, saving Wingadoon in the past could have a huge impact on the present! The influence of angels in history could alter history so drastically you, or even your ancestors, easily could end up never being born."

"I'd thought about it in the past," said Hope. "But Bracken's explanation explains why we should never resort to such a thing."

"I get it. But, what if I journeyed back in time, asked to be cured by the angels without bringing up the aspect of time travel, then returned to the present?"

"No," said Hope. "The angels of the past would be very hostile towards a human. Let alone a shadow charmer. It would risk causing way too much controversy."

"Great," said Seth. "Unless we find more angels or pegasi out there, I'm pretty much a lost cause at this point."

"Don't worry, Seth," said Warren. "No matter what happens, you know that we'll always care for you."

"But what happened with the Sphinx.. What if the same thing happens to _me_?"

"You're still only one person," said Bracken. "Although, we still don't know how to stop your darkness from expanding. But rest assured, we'll do everything in our power to prevent that from happening."

"I'm sorry we couldn't be of any real help," said Hope.

"We appreciate your effort," said Warren. "Come on, guys. We might as well head back."

"Hold on," said Seth, as Warren proceeded to remove the Translocator from his bag.

"What is it?" asked Bracken.

"Hope, I was thinking about what you said. About how demons are the antithesis of angels. Well, I became a shadow charmer because I was blessed by a demon. Perhaps if you _blessed_ me..."

"I don't have that kind of power," said Hope. "And even if I did, I could never give my blessing to someone whose soul has been tainted by darkness. It just wouldn't work. But I'll say this, Seth. To conquer the darkness that's within you, try believing in yourself and following your heart. Don't rush things. Just let it come naturally."

"Oh, _that'll_ help," said Seth. "I've been doing good for so long, and I'm still a shadow charmer. Sorry, Hope. But that manner of thinking just won't cut it for me. Thank you anyway for trying."

"Wait a moment!" said Clover, as Warren pulled out the Translocator.

"Sorry, Clover," said Warren. "I almost forgot to give you a kiss goodbye."

"No," said Clover. "I want to come with you."

Warren's jaw dropped in awe. "But, why?"

"Seth needs help. Now, maybe I can't provide a solution. But I can definitely provide support. I'm coming back with you."

"You're leaving?" asked Air Flair.

"Only for a while. Hope, do you mind looking after my colony while I'm gone?"

"Of course we'll look after them," replied Hope.

"Thank you," said Clover. "Once I say goodbye to the fairies here, I'll be heading back to Fablehaven with the others."

"Clover," said Seth. "Thank you. You coming back with us is the best thing to happen all day."


	24. Down and Out

**Chapter 24: Down and Out**

Back home at Fablehaven, Kendra and Ingrid were both sitting on a sofa in the living room. Although not a great length of time had passed since Seth and the others had left for Wingadoon, neither Kendra nor her sister could help but worry about what was happening to their brother high up in the city hidden within the clouds.

"Do you think that Hope and Air Flair have the power to help Seth?" asked Ingrid.

"I don't know," replied Kendra. "The power of angels is strong, that's for sure. But there's a lot we still don't know about it."

"Why not?" asked Ingrid.

"Not enough subjects to work with. Windshear, Hope and Air Flair are great, but the three of them aren't a whole lot to go on."

Before either girl could say anything else, they could hear the sound of the front door opening up. Footsteps followed, and soon Seth, Warren, Bracken and Clover had all walked into the living room.

"Clover!" exclaimed Ingrid, as she and Kendra both got up from their seats.

"Ingrid," said Clover, as she proceeded to give the girl a hug. "Kendra! It's great to see you!"

"This is a surprise," said Kendra, as she too gave Clover a hug. "I know you've been assigned to Wingadoon, but I didn't expect you to come back so suddenly!"

"It's only for the time being," said Clover. "You see, me being here has to do with Seth."

" _Hello..._ " said Seth in an annoyed tone of voice. "Unless you all forgot about me!"

"Of course we didn't forget about you," said Grandpa, who had now gathered by the entrance to the living room. "Hello Clover, it's great to see you again, dear."

"Although I do believe an explanation would calm things," noted Grandma. "Take a seat and we can discuss everything."

After everyone had seated themselves, Warren, Bracken and Clover all went on to talk about what had transpired during their brief excursion to Wingadoon.

"So you're saying that the combined power of Hope, Windshear and Air Flair just wasn't enough?" asked Mr. Sorenson.

"No, it wasn't," said Seth. "Now I'm stuck like this. And Bracken has reason to believe that it's only going to keep getting worse."

"This is terrible," said Mrs. Sorenson. "If Hope and the pegasi were unable to help you, who even can?"

"I don't know! Maybe I _should_ just be locked in the Quiet Box until a solution is actually found. All I'm accomplishing by being out and about right now is nothing but causing trouble."

"Absolutely not," said Grandpa Sorenson. "Seth, of all people, I object to locking you up in the Quiet Box. Besides, the way your darkness has been behaving, it's possible that it could very well penetrate that magic that binds the Quiet Box from within."

"Then where can I go?" asked Seth. "I'm a menace as long as I stay here at the house."

"You can go back to the Old Manor for now," said Bracken. "Now that the barrier has been reinstated again. But this time, now that we know what we're dealing with, _all_ of us fairies will put up an enchantment around you. It'll be a lot stronger than the one that had been put up solely by Geminus."

"I still feel that Seth should be supervised somehow," said Mr. Sorenson. "What if he somehow still destroys this new enchantment that Bracken is proposing? What'll happen if something goes wrong in the middle of the night again?"

"There's Hugo and Mendigo," said Ingrid. "Although, I don't know that they'll entirely understand what's going on."

"The reindeer," said Dale. "They're trained to be nocturnal, so we can request that they stand guard near the house. If anything goes wrong, some of them can deal with the problem at hand, while others can alert us. Plus, they're faster and are capable of flight."

"That's a great idea," said Grandma.

Seth nodded. "I'm grateful that you're thinking about me. But, what about... well... me? Keeping me protected is one thing. But what about the darkness that's within me? We still don't know what to do about it."

"The way I see it now, it might very well take the power of the Singing Sisters to find a solution for your predicament at this point," said Grandpa.

"Whom we can't get to, because we have no way of reaching Murdred's castle," said Warren. "Which brings our initial problem around full circle."

"Seems like the easiest way to get into Murdred's castle is to let Seth get captured again," said Ingrid.

"That isn't _helping_..." whined Seth.

"Actually," said Kendra, who could feel a brainstorm starting to brew inside her head, "that might not be such a bad idea."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Both times you've been captured, you've essentially earned yourself a free pass into Murdred's castle."

"Well, yeah. But so what? I've been completely outnumbered and overpowered when that happens. It's exactly what we've been trying to avoid, remember?"

"I know," said Kendra. "But what if a bunch of us waited around somewhere with you, waiting for you to get pulled in to the Demon Domain? Then, when it happens, we all make a rush for the portal. It's incredibly risky, but it might just work."

"Problem," said Bracken, "but can't Murdred spy on you with his evil eye? He'll see that you're not alone and might refrain from sending anyone after you."

"What if the rest of us were invisible?" asked Kendra.

"Too risky," said Warren. "We only have the two gloves, and Raxtus. The rest of us would be wasting precious magic if we sat around, waiting for Murdred to strike. Besides, if a bunch of us were invisible, we could easily hurt one another unintentionally. It was a great idea, Kendra. But just too impractical."

"Still," said Grandpa, "right now our number one priority seems to be rescuing the Singing Sisters. Their power might be the only thing that can help us locate a solution for Seth's problem."

"Seth, you've clearly been through a _lot_ already today," said Grandma. "I know we've come no further in helping you, but it's still been quite an ordeal. I propose that you take it easy for a little while. In the meantime, all of us grown-ups are going to try and come up with a way to get you into Murdred's castle."

"But what about my darkness?" asked Seth. "It's still going to keep getting worse."

"Actually," said Bracken, "I've noticed that it hasn't really grown stronger since you were woken up this morning. This is only a theory, but I think it might only increase significantly while you're asleep. Which would make sense, given that as a shadow charmer, your powers are associated with the night."

"In the meantime, we'll be sure to keep an eye on you," said Warren. "Better safe than sorry."

* * *

Not long after, Seth and a few of his family members had changed into their swim gear, and were soon lounging around outside by the pool. Both Kendra and Ingrid were diving around against the bottom of the pool, while several other family members were sitting on pool chairs.

Lying on an inflatable recliner in the center of the pool was Seth. Completely uninterested in whatever it was that the rest of his family was currently preoccupied with, Seth just stared up at the scant few clouds that were drifting across the otherwise clear blue sky.

Seth thought to himself. It was clearly such a beautiful day. Deep down, he was truly grateful that he so much as had the privilege of living at Fablehaven, let alone even having knowledge of the hidden world of magical creatures. However, getting involved with the magical world had now escalated Seth's life to the point where he was no longer in control of his own fate. What was he to do?

Suddenly, Seth's train of thought was brought to a halt when Ingrid surfaced next to where Seth was floating.

"Come on, Seth," said Ingrid, as she placed a sopping wet hand on her brother's wrist. "Jump in and swim with us!"

"I don't feel like swimming," said Seth, just as Kendra came up for air next to Ingrid.

"Seth, are you sure..." began Kendra.

"I just don't want to. I'm too stressed out."

"That's what we're here for. To help you cope."

"I'm not interested."

"I can tip over your recliner. I seem to recall you thinking of that sort of thing as a great idea in the past."

"Please, Kendra. I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Hey, Seth!" said Skyfrost, whose voice was coming from up above.

Seth, Kendra and Ingrid all looked up and saw that Skyfrost and Firesquall were both hovering in the air, roughly fifteen feet over the surface of the pool.

"You sound perturbed. Want to go for a flight with us?"

"No, Skyfrost," said Bracken, who was sitting at one edge of the pool with his legs in the water.

"Whadda'ya mean _no_?" asked Firesquall.

"The darkness within Seth is too unpredictable," said Bracken. "He needs to stay close to home where Clover and I can keep an eye on him. Not soaring around in the skies somewhere."

Skyfrost allowed himself to slowly descend into the pool. When the wyvern landed in the deep end near the kids, only his head was sticking out of water. Warren then jumped down off of Firesquall's back, landing in the water with his body tucked into a cannonball formation, which made a large splash, some of which soaked Seth.

"Come on," said Skyfrost. "You being a shadow charmer doesn't bother me."

"Bracken said he can't," said Warren. "And he knows what's best. Sorry."

"Seth, you're my best friend. I can't picture you ever wanting to harm me."

"You don't understand," said Seth. "I'd love to fly with you, but I pose too much of a threat. Just thinking about what happened to the Sphinx today... It feels like all the happiness that was in me has suddenly been sucked out."

Seth then slipped off of the recliner and into the water, then began swimming towards the shallow end.

"Where are you going?" asked Skyfrost.

"To my room," said Seth, as he made his way up the steps in the shallow end and out of the pool. "I want to be alone."

Seth quickly dried off with a towel and went back inside the house. He returned to his room and flopped down onto his bed, still wearing his damp bathing suit.

Hours passed as Seth remained in his bedroom. He had deliberately closed the blind, just to ensure he had as much privacy as he possibly could. Right now, Seth was at a complete loss for words. He didn't want to do anything, or be with anyone. As far as he was concerned, he was doomed, and there was essentially nothing that anybody could do to help him.

Mrs. Sorenson had knocked on Seth's door at one point, asking him to come downstairs for lunch. But Seth declined, stating that he wasn't hungry. Although she was persistent at first, Seth's mother ultimately gave up in trying to coerce him into having lunch, even after offering to bring a plate up to his room.

Eventually, Seth was called down for dinner. Looking at his bedside clock, Seth saw that the time now read 6:17. Had the whole day really gone by so fast? Regardless, Seth really was feeling hungry now, so he finally changed out of his wrinkled bathing suit and back into his clothes.

Seth went back downstairs and made his way to the dining room table, where everyone else was currently seated.

"Are you feeling better, Seth?" asked Mr. Sorenson.

"Not really," replied Seth. "I'm just hungry."

"Take a seat, Seth," said Grandpa. "Over the course of the afternoon, we came up with a hypothetical way of getting into Murdred's castle."

Immediately, Seth could feel as his eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Are you for real?" he asked, as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

"Well, it's kind of iffy," said Warren. "And when I say _kind of_ , I mean _very_. And by _iffy_ , I really mean _risky_."

"Still, it's the only remotely feasible idea that any of us could come up with," said Clover."

"I'm glad you guys were thinking of something," said Seth. "I didn't do anything all day. What's the idea, anyway?"

"It's actually quite obvious," replied Bracken. "Difficult to pull off, but still obvious."

"How obvious?" asked Ingrid. "Kendra and I don't know what it is yet either."

"Think about it. How did we all get into Murdred's castle? Before the moat was expanded?"

"The underground tunnel?" replied Kendra. "But so what? It's long gone."

"Yes, but the tunnel did exist. And do you recall how the tunnel came to be?"

"I think so," said Ingrid. "Unauthorized monsters dug it so that they could sneak in and out of Murdred's castle. I _think_ that's what Malfunk told us. Or at least something along those lines."

"But what good is that tunnel?" asked Seth. "Kendra just said that it's gone, and it is! It's been flooded!"

"That tunnel may be gone," said Warren. "But if monsters were able to excavate it in the first place, what's to stop us from digging up another one?"

Seth's face lit up. "You have a point, there. Maybe we _could_ dig up another tunnel. If it works, we could get back into Murdred's castle! Even if we still have no way of stopping Murdred at this point, at least we'd be able to save the Singing Sisters!"

"Excuse me," said Kendra, raising a hand, "but as good a plan as this sounds on paper, it seems extremely dangerous to even attempt."

"No one said it would be safe," said Clover.

"I mean _really_ dangerous. First of all, if we tunnel underground, how are we supposed to gauge the length of the moat? None of us are expert diggers. In fact, this would probably take ages! And what do we do if lava seeps into our tunnel? Or what if...?"

"Calm down, Kendra," said Grandpa. "We took all of these concerns into consideration. First of all, none of us are suited for heavy digging. Especially though solid rock. However, there _are_ creatures out there that are exceptional diggers."

"Really?" asked Ingrid. "Like what?"

"Well, many of them are small, such as the brownies. However, there exists a species of much larger creatures called vemors. Larger than humans, vemors share many traits with star-nosed moles, and are excellent diggers. From what we can tell, it should be possible for them to dig their way underneath and across the moat. And, while their eyesight is poor, vemors more than make up for it with their other enhanced senses. So, they would likely be able to sense if there's lava above them while digging a tunnel."

"That's great!" exclaimed Seth. "Only, where do we even find any vemors? I'm pretty sure there aren't any living here at Fablehaven."

"True," said Grandpa. "However, we did a bit of research, and there is a small clan of them residing at the Mythic Grove preserve. Now, I spoke to both the caretaker there and Trask about possibly recruiting the vemors. It was a hard sell, and it took a lot of convincing, but we managed to convince Mythic Grove to let us recruit the vemors. _If_ they even cooperate."

"Really?" asked Kendra. "You convinced them to not only part with their own protected creatures, but you expect said creatures to tunnel underneath lava?"

"Unless you know of any transit authorities that'll let us borrow one of those machines that bore subway tunnels, we're gonna need these vemors," said Warren.

"We contemplated on it for a while," said Clover. "However, your grandfather convinced Trask that getting into Murdred's castle was absolutely necessary. So Trask then spoke to the caretaker of Mythic Grove and essentially managed to borrow the vemors."

"We don't even know what these vemors are like," said Ingrid. "What if they don't like us?"

"It's true," said Grandpa. "The vemors of Mythic Grove are not the friendliest of creatures. But they _will_ cooperate if promised a handsome reward. There is a great risk to all of this, especially if something were to happen to the vemors. That's why the minute that the vemors are finished digging the tunnel, they're going straight back to their own home."

"So what's the plan?" asked Seth.

"It's quite simple, actually," said Warren. "We're going to head out to Mystic Grove and meet up with the vemors. Then we'll venture into the Demon Domain with the vemors and bring them to the edge of the lake. From there, they'll tunnel deep underground, pass beneath the lava, then come back up into the basement of Murdred's castle. Once the tunnel's built, we can send the vemors back to into the mortal realm before the rest of us continue further into the castle."

"That's great!" said Ingrid. "But one thing concerns me. What if the barrier that protects Murdred's castle prohibits us from entering through a tunnel? It didn't the last time, but Murdred now knows about that tunnel, since Seth and I tried to escape the castle through it."

"That could be a problem," said Clover. "But probably not. The thing is, the barrier appears to be set up _around_ the castle, not inside or underneath it. I don't know everything about negafae, but I doubt that Helwic could extend the barrier into solid rock that she couldn't physically reach."

"When we tried to escape, we got as far as the actual lava that was flooding the tunnel," said Seth. "So I don't think there's anything protecting the interior of the lower part of the castle."

"This sounds great!" said Ingrid. "Once dinner is over, can we head off to Mystic Grove and recruit those vemors. Right?"

Grandpa winced. "Not quite."

"What do you mean?" asked Seth. "Can we get those vemors or not?"

"We can. But not right now. vemors live almost exclusively underground. They only come to the surface about once a week to hunt for prey, then return to their lair. Since vemors are very territorial, we'll have to wait until they're ready to come outside before we can even attempt to recruit them."

"You mean, we've gotta keep waiting?"

"I'm afraid so," said Grandpa. "But it's only for a few more days. Hopefully, with the right precautions, we'll be able to hang in there until then."


	25. The Great Barrier Breach

**Chapter 25: The Great Barrier Breach**

After dinner was finished, Seth was at least feeling somewhat better about his current situation. If nothing else, at least the prospect of seeking assistance from the vemors brought a him sense of hope. With the amazing mole-like diggers on the Knight's side, they would hopefully be able to bore through the rock that spanned underneath the expanded lava moat, creating a passage that they would then be able to traverse.

Of course, there was still the issue of having to wait for the vemors residing at Mythic Grove to emerge from their burrow, which would likely not happen for a couple of days. However, there did not appear to be any other solutions which one would deem more feasible. Compared to trying to dig a tunnel without the assistance of the vemors, waiting a few days to seek their assistance, then letting them dig the tunnel was by far the faster option.

Over the course of dinner, Grandpa had suggested that the Knights of the Dawn should take it easy for the rest of the day. He felt that for the next few days, until it was time to meet with the vemors, that everyone get in some extra training. Not that any of them were slouches, but Grandpa figured that the more training they all had, the better off they would be.

Although he was not in the best of spirits due to what had transpired with the Sphinx earlier that same day, Seth was at least willing to spend some time with the rest of his family. For the next few hours that followed dinner, the family all sat out on the back porch patio.

Ingrid, who had sat down next to Seth, tried to start up a conversation with him several times. However, every time she prompted him with a question, Seth's answer was always a simple one word answer, be it positive or negative. Eventually, after failing to get Seth's interest, Ingrid politely got up and went over to be with Kendra.

Before long, the sun had fully set, and twilight had started to creep its way across the sky from the east. It was now time for Seth to head out to the Old Manor for the night.

As the family made their way back into the house, Grandma presented Seth with a suitcase, containing a change of clothes, some personal belongings, and a few other provisions. Saying goodnight to the rest of the family, Seth then went back outside, where her met up with Bracken, Clover, Stargleam, Raxtus, Geminus and all of the reindeer.

Once Seth had seated himself upon Raxtus' back, the fairy dragons, Bracken, Clover and the reindeer all flew off into the air in the direction of the Old Manor, while Stargleam galloped across the ground beneath them. As they were not flying terribly fast, it was easy for the unicorn to keep up with everyone else's pace.

They soon reached the Old Manor, where they came down for a landing by the front porch, just as Stargleam caught up with them. Seth proceeded to climb down off of Raxtus' back, hauling his suitcase around in one hand.

"Well," said Bracken, "I guess this is it. Are you ready, Seth?"

"I guess so," replied Seth. "I don't think I can get myself any more prepared than I already am."

"Understood," said Bracken.

"Do you think the five of us are enough?" asked Geminus. "Last night, my power alone wasn't strong enough to restrain the darkness within Seth."

"Here's hoping. The power within Seth is indeed strong, as we witnessed what went on with the Sphinx. However, there are no detrimental outlets in the area to leach off of Seth's darkness. At least, none that have access to him."

"Either way, our combined power ought to be a lot stronger than Geminus' alone," said Stargleam.

"Besides," said Clover. "The reindeer are all here, reporting for duty. If anything peculiar happens, they'll be ready for action."

The reindeer all nodded.

"That does sound assuring," said Seth. "Okay. Let's do this. Use your powers to restrain my darkness."

"Okay," said Bracken, as he Clover, Raxtus, Geminus and Stargleam all gathered in a circle around Seth.

Seth watched as Bracken proceeded to transform into his unicorn form, so that he was now surrounded by two unicorns, two fairy dragons and one fairy angel.

"Everyone," said Bracken, "It is time. Lend Seth your power now."

Seth watched in awe as the five allies of light all exerted energy from their bodies onto his. Light energy shimmered from the horns of the unicorns, fiery energy came flowing out of the mouths of the dragons, while green sparkles glistened out of Clover's hands.

Within a moment, Seth could feel a warm, comforting glow encasing his entire body. At that point, the creatures all stopped exerting their energies upon him.

"There," said Bracken. "It is done. How do you feel, Seth?"

"I feel... Great," replied Seth. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, the but effects of the protective magic seemed to fill his entire body with positive emotions and feelings of security and confidence.

"Good," said Clover. "That means our power is working."

"I guess I can just go up to bed now," said Seth.

"Of course," said Bracken. "You should be fine. Remember, you can call someone if you need anything at all. And the reindeer will be guarding the house, so you should be safe."

"Thanks, you guys," said Seth. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," said Raxtus. "We just hope that you get this whole thing resolved soon, though. I don't like the idea of having to set up extra protection on you like this."

"Believe me, I couldn't agree more," said Seth. "Goodnight, you guys."

The various fairy creatures all said goodnight to Seth, then proceeded to head back towards the main house. Seth then watched as two reindeer, Dasher and Vixen, stood guard at different points at the front of the house. Four other reindeer trotted around to the sides of the house. The last two, Dancer and Prancer, flew up to the ledge outside the window of the bedroom where Seth would be staying.

Seth then made his way into the house and closed the door. Before moving to Fablehaven, Seth always savored those seldom times when he had the house all to himself. However, now that he was all alone in the Old Manor, Seth wanted nothing more than to be with his family.

Seth went upstairs to the second floor, where he washed up and changed into his nightwear. He then entered the bedroom where he had slept the previous night and walked over to the window. Glancing through the glass, Seth could see Dancer and Prancer standing guard on the roof outside the window, both of them facing forward.

Knowing that he was in good company, Seth switched off the light, plopped himself onto the bed and pulled the cover over his body. As the window blind had to be kept open in order for the reindeer to keep their eyes on him, Seth opted to slip a blindfold over his eyes, as light from outside was pouring in through the window. Settled in bed at last, Seth allowed himself to eventually fall asleep.

At last, Seth had finally found solitude. He was finally in a peaceful state of mind. Even though it was going to be a few more days before they would venture back into the Demon Domain, at least now there was assurance. Seth could wait it out, could he not? Enough precautions had been taken into consideration, so success seemed very plausible to him.

* * *

Seth found his slumber brought to an abrupt halt, as he felt several sturdy, unidentifiable objects pressing against the side of his body. Too stiff to be hands, Seth pulled the cover away from his face.

Standing by Seth's side, between the bed and the window, were Dancer and Prancer, both of whom were nudging against his body with their antlers. The mere sight of the two reindeer had really startled him.

Seth groaned. "What's going on?" he mumbled, as he tried to push the reindeer's antlers away with his arm, before noticing what the cause for alarm even was.

The window behind the reindeer had been smashed open. Intrigued, Seth slipped out of bed, and could see that hundreds of pieces of broken glass were presently scattered along the floor between the bed and the window. Clearly, the reindeer had smashed through the glass in order to get into the bedroom.

"You did this?" asked Seth, as he slipped down from the other side of the bed.

Dancer and Prancer both nodded, as Seth placed his feet into a pair of slippers. Seth crept up to the window, then glanced down to the ground below. Four other reindeer were currently trying to hold off a large, black, scorpion-like creature with their antlers.

"What's that?" gasped Seth, who didn't recognize the creature as any of the ones that resided at Fablehaven.

Seth quickly picked up his phone that had been sitting on the nightstand, and wasted no time in calling his grandfather. As he listened to the phone ringing, he noticed that the time was currently only 12:15.

"Seth!" exclaimed Grandpa, as he answered the call on the other line. "Comet and Cupid woke us up by banging on my bedroom window! What's going on?"

"Grandpa! There's some big scorpion-creature-thing outside the Old Manor! He's trying to fight his way past the other reindeer!"

"Big scorpion thing? I don't know what that is, but it sounds bad. We'll head over there right away! Just try to hang in there! Hopefully the reindeer can protect you! Hang on!"

Once Grandpa hung up, Seth proceeded to grab the Pyruby from his bag, then scurried over to the window.

Looking back down at the reindeer on the lawn, Seth watched as the scorpion swung its tail towards Donner, only for it to get blocked by the reindeer's antlers. In retaliation, the scorpion attempted to grab Donner with its pincer, which the reindeer barely dodged.

"That thing's too strong for you guys," said Seth, as Dancer and Prancer both nodded in agreement by his side. "Hey, wait a moment! You reindeer can fly! Just take to the air, that scorpion will never harm us!"

Seth then stuck his head out the broken window and raised his voice. "Reindeer! Forget that dumb scorpion! Just fly to safety! I'll blast that stupid thing with my Pyruby!"

Seth watched as the reindeer that were on the ground all bounced up a few feet into the air, then fell back down.

"Fly!" exclaimed Seth, wondering why the reindeer were seemingly grounded. "Why can't you fly?"

Suddenly, a thought hit Seth. Could the scorpion have done something to the reindeer, rendering them incapable of flight?

"If you can't fly... I dunno, just run!"

Just then, the scorpion slashed one of the reindeer with the blade on its tail, raking the animal along the side of its body, leaving a bloody, red mark in its path.

"Vixen!" gasped Seth. Without so much as thinking, Seth climbed out of the broken window and onto the outside roof. He then leaped over to the branch of a nearby tree, clasping onto it with his hands, before letting go and plummeting several feet to the ground below. Dancer and Prancer landed on the ground immediately after him, and made their way over to where the scorpion and other reindeer were.

Now that Seth was on the ground, he had earned the scorpion's attention. However, from this perspective, Seth was now able to witness the creature's true size. Bigger than any of the reindeer, it was roughly the size of a hippopotamus without taking its pincers or tail into account.

Seth held out the Pyruby and aimed it at the scorpion. However, he was unable to get a clear shot, no matter how he angled himself, as there was always a reindeer or two standing between him and the hippo. Vixen was presently huddled up on the ground, while the other reindeer were trying to defend her and ward off the scorpion.

"Get out of the way!" cried Seth, as he was still hoping to blast the scorpion with the Pyruby's fire.

The reindeer all moved aside from where they were huddled, now giving Seth a clear shot of the scorpion.

"Take this!" snapped Seth, as he firmly clasped the Pyruby in his hand, causing a stream of fire to blast out of the relic and go flying directly into the scorpion.

The scorpion scowled, then proceeded to march towards Seth, seemingly unfazed by the fire.

"H-h-h-hey, get away from me!" muttered Seth, as he cautiously backed away from the scorpion, who threatened him by clenching its pincers and hoisting its scythe-like tail upwards.

Not knowing where else to go, Seth ran back up to the front door of the house and attempted to open the door. Locked. Of course! He had locked himself out, and the key was still upstairs in the bedroom! Now how was he supposed to get back in?

At that moment, Seth turned around and saw that the scorpion had now climbed up onto the porch, leaving Seth with his back against the door.

"Get away from me!" snapped Seth, as the scorpion attempted to clamp onto him with one of its pincers, only narrowly missing its target.

Seth then watched as several reindeer caught the scorpion by its tail with their antlers, and attempted to pull the beast away from Seth. However, they could not so much as budge it. The scorpion must have been either real powerful or real heavy, if not both.

Suddenly, Seth felt an overwhelming amount of energy coursing through his body. "Leave me alone!" he roared.

The scorpion then lowered its pincers and tail, and proceeded to retreat from Seth, backing away down the porch steps and onto the ground. That was it. The creature was now listening to him, and had obeyed his command to leave him alone.

"The reindeer!" snapped Seth. "Leave them alone, too! In fact, stop moving altogether!"

Heeding Seth's command, the scorpion came to a halt and remained completely still.

"This is cool," said Seth. "Darkness or not, at least this scorpion thing is obeying me! I should've tried this in the first place, instead of resorting to the Pyruby, which didn't even work."

With the scorpion still stationary, Seth proceeded to walk over to where Vixen was resting. However, before Seth could reach the fallen reindeer, two more of them lowered their antlers before him, blocking off his path.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" asked Seth. "I'm trying to _help_ Vixen, not hurt her!"

"Seth!" cried Kendra's voice from a distance.

Seth turned his head and saw various figures flying towards him, coming from the direction of the house.

"What's going on?" asked Ingrid, as she and Geminus soared down to where Seth, the reindeer and the scorpion all were.

"Seth, are you all right?" asked Mrs. Sorenson, as she climbed down off of Cupid's backside.

"What is _that_ thing?" asked Mr. Sorenson, pointing at the scorpion as he too climbed down from Cupid. "Did it hurt you, Seth?"

"It hurt Vixen!" exclaimed Seth, directing everyone's attention over to the fallen reindeer.

"No!" gasped Dale.

"Everybody!" shouted Grandpa, amongst a lot of banter. "TIME OUT! Vixen has been injured, I insist that we heal her immediately."

"I'll do it," said Warren. "But what about that scorpion? It's not moving."

"I've got it under control," said Seth. "I promise."

Warren nodded, then walked over to where Vixen was sitting, blood seeping out from her wound. "Poor girl. You'll be okay."

Warren proceeded to pour the Sands of Sanctity upon the reindeer's wound. Within seconds, Vixen's wound magically healed itself up. In response, she licked Warren's hand and got back up on her hooves.

"What's the deal with the scorpion?" asked Ingrid, as she eyed the creature. "I've never even heard of such a thing living at Fablehaven."

"That's because it's _not_ from Fablehaven," said Grandpa. "In fact, I've never seen one of these things before in my life."

"If it's not from Fablehaven, then where did it come from?"

"Possibly the Demon Domain, I'm afraid," said Bracken. "Even though it's not doing anything, that creature is radiating a substantial amount of darkness. I'm feeling weakened just by being near that thing."

"If it's from the Demon Domain, then how'd it get here?" asked Dale.

Everyone turned to look at Seth.

"It wasn't me!" exclaimed Seth. "I was in bed the whole time! Asleep!"

Dancer and Prancer both nodded.

"Nobody's blaming you," said Grandpa. "It wasn't intentional, at least. But clearly _something_ had to have happened in order for this scorpion to show up."

"But still," said Kendra. "What caused the scorpion to even be here?"

Clover walked up to Seth and held out her hands. "Yeesh! Seth, you're radiating a tremendous amount of darkness!"

"Not to mention our protective spell we placed upon you has vanished," said Geminus.

"What else is new?" asked Seth.

"This does not look good," said Bracken, as he transformed into his unicorn form. "I'm going to sense the preserve as best I can. See if we can figure out how exactly this scorpion got here. Please do not distract me."

Bracken raised his head upward, and a beam of rainbow-colored energy shot out of his horn, up into the sky.

"What do we do about this scorpion?" asked Ingrid.

"As long as it's not moving, it's not posing much of a threat," said Grandpa. "We can detain it, or if worst comes to worst, there's always elimination."

"Oh no!" gasped Bracken, as the beam that he was shooting up into the sky suddenly ceased up.

"What's the matter?" asked Kendra. "Are you okay?"

" _I'm_ okay," replied Bracken, whose eyes were bulging. "But what I've discovered is very bad."

"How bad?" asked Seth.

"Well... I know now how that scorpion got here. In fact, anyone can get here now."

"What do you mean?" asked Grandma.

"The barrier that protects Fablehaven... It's gone."

"Gone?" asked Grandpa.

"Gone. As the situation stands now, anybody is able to come and go as they please. The register that's supposed to regulate order on this preserve... It's nothing more than an ordinary book at this point."

Seth lowered his head and shook it. "No. This can't be happening. I don't want things to be this way."


	26. Exile

**Chapter 26: Exile**

Everybody who was currently present stared at Seth. Left with no alternative, Seth gazed back at all of them. What would happen now? What would they do? Was he in trouble? Perhaps. Did he deserve to be punished? Of course not! But, nevertheless, something had to happen. The question on Seth's mind, was _what_?

"This is awful," said Grandma. "The barrier is completely gone?"

"I can't sense it at all," replied Bracken. "But it's gone. The good news is that because most of the creatures here are diurnal, I don't think any of them have discovered that the barrier even is down. Nor have any outsiders. The bad news... there's absolutely nothing to stop them from crossing any lines."

"How did this even happen?" asked Ingrid.

Bracken did not give an oral response. He merely pointed at Seth.

"Can you fairies at least reinstate the barrier?" asked Grandpa.

"Yeah," added Warren. "The last thing we need is for some intruders to just waltz onto the preserve."

"It shouldn't be impossible," said Clover. "However, we'd still be stuck with the exact same problem."

"You mean _me_?" asked Seth, whom Clover was looking directly at.

"If it happened just now, it's bound to happen again," said Bracken.

"But that's not fair!" exclaimed Seth. "This wasn't intentional! Come on! You know that."

"We understand entirely, Seth," said Clover. "But the truth of the matter is, as long as you remain here at Fablehaven, you stand as a liability."

"Then where exactly can I go?" asked Seth.

"What I want to know," said Grandpa, "is _where_ that scorpion came from."

"Well, it's clearly a creature of darkness," said Raxtus. "And even though the barrier's down, I'm pretty sure it wasn't just dwelling nearby... Unless it came through from the Demon Domain..."

"With the barrier down, I wouldn't put it past anything," said Grandma.

"As long as he's here, I might as well try speaking to that scorpion," said Seth. "See if he can answer some questions." Seth turned back to face the scorpion. "All right, you. Listen up! I've got some questions for you. Now, did you come here from the Demon Domain? Answer me!"

"Yes..." replied the scorpion, speaking in a scaly voice.

"What'd he say?" asked Kendra.

"He said yes," said Seth, speaking back to the others, who were all incapable of understanding the dark creature. Seth then faced the scorpion again. "How did you get here, through a portal?"

"Indeed," said the scorpion. "I entered the portal at the request of Lord Murdred."

Seth relayed the scorpion's response back to the others.

"Why?" asked Seth.

"To see what would happen."

"Ask him how Murdred knew to set up a portal when he did," said Clover.

Seth took Clover's question and gave it to the scorpion.

"I don't know," said the scorpion. "Lord Murdred did not share that information with me. I do not question his ways. I only go along with them, like any loyal resident of the Demon Domain. I was honored to be selected for such a request."

"Where's the portal now?" asked Seth.

"It's closed off. But Lord Murdred can open another one any time he wants."

Seth then relayed the scorpion's next response to the others.

"Well," said Clover, "it's obvious that Murdred has been able to spy on you, at least as long as the barrier's been down."

"But why did it go down?" asked Seth. "If that barrier wasn't enough, what about the protective spell that was placed on me?"

Bracken studied Seth again. "Seth, the darkness within you is continuously growing stronger. It's obviously reached a point wherein the protective spells of light energy are no longer able to confine it..."

It looked like Bracken wanted to continue, but found himself unable to go on. Like he was saddened about something.

"Seth, I don't know how else to say this," said Clover, "but the darkness within you... It's doing something. It's changing the very fabric of your being."

"What does that mean?" asked Seth, whose face was showing that he was genuinely worried.

"It means that before long, the darkness will transform your body and your soul," said Bracken. "You'll be a fallen human, like Murdred or Nemenemi."

"No!" cried Seth. "I won't let that happen!"

"Seth, there's nothing we know of that can stop it," said Clover. "We're sorry, Seth. But the way things are now, you're a hazard to have on this preserve!"

"A hazard? This place is my home! I love it here! That scorpion over there... _that's_ what you call a hazard!"

"With the way your darkness has been growing, you're actually the bigger threat to us right now," said Bracken. "You've already destroyed two barriers just by being asleep! I think that the best course of action would be for you to leave Fablehaven."

Seth winced as he violently shook his head. "I can't leave here! I'm already in serious danger!"

"But if you stay here, you'll just enable more creatures, like that scorpion, to enter the preserve," said Clover. "I know it's upsetting, but it's the truth."

"If that scorpion came through, what's to stop more creatures from coming in after him?" asked Grandma. "We're completely unprotected right now."

"We'll have to reinstate the barrier," said Bracken. "And even if we do, Seth's mere presence is more than likely to just dispel it again."

"Do it anyway," said Dale. "We can't take the risk of allowing more demonic creatures to slip onto the preserve."

"And if we do bring back the barrier..."

Unable to finish his sentence, Bracken turned towards Seth and pointed at him.

"Great..." grumbled Seth, who was dreading the prospect of his own future. "What am I supposed to do? Do I really have to leave Fablehaven?"

Grandpa sighed. "I'm sorry, Seth. "But as long as you remain here, this preserve will no longer be safe for anyone. It pains me to say this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Everyone else gasped, and uttered either _Grandpa!_ , _Dad!_ , or _Stan!_.

"Seth can't leave!" exclaimed Mr. Sorenson. "This is my son we're talking about! _Your_ grandson, Dad!"

"This isn't about sentimentality, Scott," said Grandpa. "We all love Seth. But that doesn't change the fact that it is physically a hazard for him to remain at Fablehaven. The barrier is no longer strong enough to withstand him, and as long as it's down, more unwanted visitors can and will enter."

"If Seth leaves, where is going to go?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

"I don't know. This preserve is one of the single-most secure places on the planet. If the darkness within Seth was able to overwhelm its protective magic, it can very well do it elsewhere. So I don't dare risk sending him to Living Mirage or another preserve."

"We need to keep Seth safe," said Clover. "But as long as he's unprotected, what's to stop Murdred and Helwic from opening another portal wherever Seth happens to be? The only reason we're not being attacked right now is because there's too many of us protecting Seth at the moment."

"But there's a lot of monsters who reside in the Demon Domain," said Warren. "That scorpion was just a test. The tip of the iceberg. You fairies had better bring back the barrier right now, Seth or no Seth."

"Understood," said Bracken, as he closed his eyes and clenched his hands together. "As a royal unicorn, I'm sending a telepathic distress signal to my sister, the Fairy Queen. If we are to restore the barrier, we're going to need additional help."

"What about me?" asked Seth. "Is there _nowhere_ I can go? Not even the Quiet Box?"

Seth, your body is changing in an unknown way," said Clover. "Your own molecules are completely unstable at this point. I think it's safe to say that you're slowly undergoing some sort of _metamorphosis._ And I'm afraid there's nothing we can do at this point to help you."

"No matter where I go," said Seth. "No matter what I do... I'm doomed!"

Seth then ran back towards the Old Manor.

"Seth, come back!" shouted Skyfrost.

"Leave me alone!" shouted Seth, As the front door of the Old Manor was locked, he ran around the side of the house to the backyard.

"Grandpa," said Kendra, "where _is_ Seth going to go?"

"I don't know," replied Grandpa. "No matter where he goes, Seth can ultimately be targeted by Murdred. And Murdred has an entire empire full of monsters at his disposal. Even though that one scorpion failed, Murdred can keep sending in more and more monsters until Seth and anyone who's with him is completely overwhelmed."

"I'm going to keep an eye on Seth," said Skyfrost. "But I'll do it from afar. Just to make sure he's okay."

Skyfrost extended his wings and flew up into the air. The wyvern soared over towards the Old Manor, then came down for a landing on the roof, where he perched himself.

"I guess perhaps Seth isn't safe anywhere," said Ingrid. "I don't get it. I know _why_ he's a shadow charmer and everything. But it just seems like such an odd fit for him. He doesn't strike me as ally of darkness material. He's one of the good guys."

"Which is exactly the root of Seth's problem," said Grandpa. "Seth _is_ a good person. He's just been tainted by darkness. Fortunately, it's never been anything Seth hasn't been able to truly cope with. Fairies were never too keen with him, but he could still live a fairly normal life. However, this meddling that Murdred's done with Seth is a whole different beast. Seth's darkness has been spiraling out of control, and we've been completely unable to stop it."

"I wish there was something we could do to help," said Kendra. "I don't want to lose my brother."

Clover shook her head. "Let's just deal with one thing at a time, shall we?"

Clover snapped her fingers, causing a string of rope to appear in the air before her. The rope then flew towards the scorpion and wound itself around the monster. Still unable to move, the scorpion remained hopelessly still as the rope tied it up.

A moment later, several figures could be seen flying through the air above the trees, heading in the direction of where the group, sans Seth, were currently gathered.

"Good, they're here!" said Bracken.

Everyone watched as a sizable group of fairy angels descended down towards the group. Leading the fairy angels was Brillia, who was accompanied by Bright, Bravia, Brook, Opal, Tiara, Shiara and Ariel.

"Hello, everyone!" said Bright. "I kinda wish we could've met under more fortunate circumstances, though."

"Let's focus on the task at hand first," said Brillia, nodding at the group. "Bracken, your claim seems valid. The barrier that was set up around Fablehaven does appear to be gone. It will need to be restored immediately. Let's get to it."

All of the fairy angels that were present, as well as Raxtus, and Geminus, gathered around in one large circle. With the exception of Stargleam, everyone in the circle held hands. As for Stargleam, the unicorn opted to remain in the center of the circle.

The fairy creatures all rose up into the air, even bringing the wingless Stargleam with them with their power. They then proceeded to float towards the house.

"Where are they going?" asked Ingrid.

"The house is the core of the whole preserve," said Grandpa. "If they're going to set up the barrier again, it makes sense that they've chosen to do it where they did so the previous time."

As the house wasn't too far off in the distance, it was still possible to see where the fairy creatures came to a stop in the air. A moment later, a large, rainbow-colored star appeared around the fairies. A moment later, a multitude of rainbows shot out of the star in all directions. Kendra gazed up as one of the rainbows streaked through the air, directly above where the group was standing.

"Now that's _fast_!" said Firesquall.

After the rainbows had all stopped, the star that had formed around the fairies disappeared. The fairies then flew back towards the group and came down for a landing.

"It is done," said Brillia. "The barrier is back up. Hopefully not too much happened while it was down."

"Thank you so much, said Grandma.

"I have a question," said Shiara. "Why exactly did the barrier fall? I was asked to come very suddenly, and the situation was never fully explained to me."

"It was... because of Seth," replied Grandpa, as he proceeded to tell the many fairy angels that had gathered about how Seth's presence had weakened the barrier.

"But please don't take it out on Seth," said Grandma. "It really isn't the poor boy's fault. Honest."

Seth then walked back towards the group, with Skyfrost following by his side.

"We saw the rainbows," said Skyfrost. "I take it the barrier is back up?"

"Great..." moaned Seth. "How long will it take before I _accidentally_ ruin this one?"

"Hi, Seth!" said Bright.

"Hi, Bright," said Seth in an unenthusiastic voice.

"Seth, we're sorry about what's happened," said Brook.

"Yeah, and if I don't leave Fablehaven quick, that barrier's going down again. All of your effort will have been for nothing."

"Leave Fablehaven?" asked Opal. "But, Seth? Where will you go?"

"I don't know, okay! But it's for the best anyway. As long as I have to leave Fablehaven, I might as well travel to the Demon Domain."

"But if you do that, Seth," said Bracken, "then Murdred will easily find and exploit you!"

"I still can't stay here. Do you fairies really want to keep abandoning your duties every single day to come here and restore the barrier?"

"Actually... it's worse than that," said Brillia.

"What do you mean?" asked Ingrid.

"Seth, from what I'm sensing, and what Bracken's told me, your body is essentially a living time bomb at this point."

"A bomb?" gasped Seth. "How am I a bomb?"

"The pent up darkness that's within you. You've been trying to suppress it all this time, but in doing so, you've only caused it to slowly start swelling up."

"Are you _serious_? I don't feel any different. At least not physically."

"I get it," said Warren. "If a balloon gets filled with more air than withstand, it will pop. The same goes for your body and darkness. And right now, you're a balloon that's pretty much at capacity."

Seth shook his head, then walked up to Brillia. Seth looked at the Fairy Queen. A beautiful, peaceful seemed perfect. And then there was himself, the disciple of the Demon God, contorted between two sides. He was the last person who deserved her help.

"Queen Brillia," said Seth, "Are you absolutely sure that there's nothing you can do to help me?"

"I'm sorry," said Brillia. "But from what I understand, any light energies we expose you to will only harm you. And we cannot remove the darkness, for it has become a part of you. It is most unfortunate, but this is the fate that Murdred has inflicted upon you."

"Murdred," said Seth. "Murdred, Murdred, MURDRED! God, I am SO fed up with him right now!"

"Seth, calm down," said Kendra. "Getting mad isn't going to help!"

"Easy for you to say! You're their precious handmaiden! The fairies just _love_ you!"

Seth then sat down on the ground and curled himself up into a ball, his face hidden behind his knees.

"Seth," said Kendra, as she knelt down next to her brother. "I have an idea."

Kendra waited for a response from Seth, but got none.

"We're going to stop Murdred. Right now. I'm serious."

"So what?" asked Seth. "I'm still brimming with darkness! Even if you somehow do defeat Murdred, how is that going to help me?"

"We'll rescue the Singing Sisters while we're there."

"Because that's totally going to work. Just like the last time we tried to enter the castle. That's what got me into this mess in the first place!"

"No, Seth," said Kendra. "This time is going to be different. This time, we're going to give it everything we've got in order to get inside that castle. And you know what, your precious handmaiden sister is going insist that the fairies help us."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Bravia. "You want all of us to enter the Demon Domain, Kendra? I know that you have our utmost loyalty, but isn't that kind of taking things a bit too far?"

"I completely understand. But I at least want to try. If we're going to breach Murdred's fortified castle, we're going to need every last ounce of fairy magic that we can get. Our group needs to return to the Demon Domain immediately, and I am ordering every fairy angel that is present to accompany us on our journey."

"We're all for helping you," said Tiara. "But, what if we get into a situation that we cannot handle?"

"Then you fairies will be relieved of your duties, and may leave the Demon Domain right then and there. At least then, you fairies will have _tried_ to help us."

"But if the fairies have to leave prematurely," said Ingrid, "then how are we going to get into Murdred's castle?"

"I guess we won't," said Kendra. "Our only option will be to return home and try to devise another plan."

"Not me," said Seth. "This will be my last trip into the Demon Domain. If we're unsuccessful in rescuing the Singing Sisters on this mission, that's it. I'm staying in the Demon Domain. I'm not coming back."

"Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson. "What are you saying?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. But I can't remain a danger to those whom I love. If I can't leave the Demon Domain with a solution, then I'm not leaving the Demon Domain at all."


	27. The Ultimate Quest

**Chapter 27: The Ultimate Quest**

The entire assembled group, be they human, fairy, dragon or ungulate, all walked back towards the house. Kendra could tell that everyone else was feeling just as worried and anxious as she was.

"Seth," said Mrs. Sorenson, "you can't be serious. "Going into the Demon Domain, and then voluntarily staying behind there? That's... beyond reason!"

"I know," said Seth. "But it needs to be done. If we don't find a solution to my problem, then staying here is not an option. The darkness that's within me is just going to poison this entire world."

"And what about us fairies?" asked Tiara. "Do we all have to travel to the Demon Domain?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Kendra. "We need all of your help for this. And I realize that this is a huge risk, so if any of you fairies feel that you cannot remain in the Demon Domain, I insist that you leave, even if it means that some of us still stay behind."

"All the fairies can't leave the rest of you stranded in the Demon Domain," said Grandma. "How will you knights get home if there's no one left to open a portal back to Fablehaven?

"I'll stay with the Knights the entire time," said Bracken. "If I have to leave, the knights are coming with me."

"Me too," said Clover, placing a hand on Warren's shoulder.

"Count me in," said Bright. "The more backup we can provide, the better."

"Seth, we still don't agree with your sacrifice idea," said Mr. Sorenson. "We'll never see you again, and you'll just... perish in the Demon Domain!"

"It's only a last resort," said Seth. "At this point, what have I got to lose?"

"Seth.." said Mrs. Sorenson, as she held out her arms.

"No, don't hug!" exclaimed Brillia.

"We can't hug our own son?" asked Mr. Sorenson, as he and his wife slowly backed away from Seth.

"I'm sorry, but Seth is highly volatile right now. The less contact others make with him, the better."

Seth felt horrible. Here he was, sadder than ever, and he couldn't even accept a final goodbye hug from members of his own family.

"In that case, we'd better get going," said Warren. "I know it's late, but this can't wait a moment longer."

Everyone went inside the house. The knights proceeded to change into their adventuring gear and assembled their equipment, then returned back outside.

"Is everyone clear on our mission?" asked Bracken.

"I am," said Ingrid. "We search the Demon Domain until we find Murdred's castle, then force our way in. If we fail to reach it, we return."

"Here's hoping," said Seth, as he walked over towards Skyfrost.

"No, Seth!" said Clover.

"What?"

"Sorry, but I don't think you should ride on an unprotected dragon like Skyfrost. I propose you ride on Geminus."

"Aww, come on!" moaned Skyfrost. "Seth and I always go together!"

"I agree," said Bright. "Seth, you'd put Skyfrost at risk. It's better if you ride on a resilient dragon, like Geminus. Ingrid, you ride on Skyfrost."

"Oh, all right," groaned Seth, as he walked over to Geminus, then climbed up onto the pink dragon's backside. It had been a while since he had flown around on a fairy dragon, as he typically always partnered up with Skyfrost.

"Kendra, are you seriously still banking on Vasilis?" asked Seth, who noticed that Kendra was wearing the legendary sword in a sheath on her back.

"I'm hoping it'll work if we have all the fairies on our side" she replied. "Even though it's never worked in the Demon Domain before."

"I'm going to open a portal to the Demon Domain now," said Clover. The green fairy waved her hand in the air, causing a whirling vortex to suddenly appear in front of her.

"This is it," said Brillia. "Remember, we'll all be right by your side when you need us. But we'll be in a state of hibernation to conserve our strength. You will need to summon us orally to receive our support, as we will not be aware of our surroundings in this special state."

Kendra watched as every last fairy, with the exception of Clover, suddenly vanished before their eyes. With all but one of the fairies gone, the group now seemed significantly smaller than before.

"Seth..." said Mr. Sorenson. "Good luck."

"We'll always love you," said Mrs. Sorenson.

"Goodbye everyone," said Seth, as he waved to his parents, grandparents and Dale.

One by one, the four dragons proceeded to step through the portal, which led the group to an unknown area of the Demon Domain. Once all the dragons and knights had entered, Clover made her way through, then used her power to close the portal.

"Well, this is it," said Clover. "I hope you make it."

Clover then allowed herself to vanish as well, leaving the group with just eight members; Kendra, Seth, Ingrid, Warren, Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall. Sure, there were the numerous fairies who were in hiding that were also on their side. But as it stood now, it was the group of eight versus the Demon Domain.

Kendra and Seth both examined their surroundings. From what they could tell, they appeared to be at the bottom of a a very deep and narrow chasm, for when they looked up, the walls appeared to go up for hundreds of feet. The top of the chasm was barely visible.

"What is this place?" asked Ingrid.

"Beats me," replied Warren. "I want to just fly out of here, but the walls look pretty narrow. What do you think, Firesquall?"

"Let me see," said Firesquall, as he rotated his body so that the walls of the chasm were to his side. "Ground feels kinda funny."

Kendra looked down at the ground. Something did seem peculiar about it. Although it was taupe like most of the terrain of the Demon Domain, something about it seemed off. It looked to be very glossy and smooth.

"No kidding," said Skyfrost, as he alternated between lifting his two talons up and back down. "Ground feels kind of slippery, almost."

"I barely fit," said Firesquall, who had extended both of his wings between the walls of the chasm, which was only about a foot or so wider than his entire wingspan. "It's too narrow for any of us to properly fly out of here. Maybe we can climb out."

Suddenly, the unusual ground began to tremble, causing the dragons to nearly loose their footing as they struggled to remain in standing positions.

"What's happening?" gasped Ingrid, as she hugged the back of Skyfrost's head.

"It's an earthquake!" cried Seth, as Geminus continued to dance around on the spot, trying to keep her balance.

"It can't be!" exclaimed Warren, as he pointed down the chasm. "The ground over there is rising!"

Surely enough, about fifty feet away, the floor of the chasm started to curl upwards. After it came up by about one-hundred feet, an enormous, reptilian head was revealed to be at the end of it.

"That's no ground!" exclaimed Raxtus. "We're standing on some sort of enormous serpent!"

The massive head of the serpent lunged down towards the group, showing off the intimidating set of jagged teeth that lined its mouth.

"Come on!" snapped Skyfrost, as he and the other dragons all dashed away the from the incoming head, and continued down along the serpent's body.

From what Kendra could gather, the head was advancing towards the group faster than the dragons could run. If only the dragons could get airborne, they could easily fly to safety. But the chasm was just too narrow. Their only hope was to reach a point where they could lose the serpent somehow.

Just then, the rear end of the serpent began to rise upwards. Only it wasn't the tail of the serpent. Instead, it was a second head, which was identical in appearance to the first.

"Oh no!" cried Kendra. "We're trapped!"

"Don't give up yet!" quipped Warren, as he aimed the Sapphazure at the rear head. "Fight back!"

Within seconds, Warren, Kendra, Seth, Skyfrost and Firesquall were all attacking the heads using either fire, water, ice or boulders. However, none of their attacks were powerful enough to truly stop the heads.

"No, don't!" exclaimed Kendra, as Ingrid readied the Diavolt. "If you shock the serpent, we'll feel it too!"

At this point, the first head was closing in on the group from behind, while the second was closing in at the front. From the looks of things, the group now appeared to be boxed in between the serpent's two incoming heads.

"What do we do?" gasped Ingrid.

With the two heads now zeroing in on the group, Seth began to concentrate quite sternly. Suddenly, the two heads came to a complete halt, both of them only mere yards away from colliding with the group.

"What happened?" exclaimed Kendra, as she looked back and forth at the two immobilized heads.

"I stopped the heads," said Seth. "As long as my power over darkness is growing stronger, I might as well do so _mething_ useful with it."

"Good," said Warren. "But don't strain yourself."

"Are you kidding? Now that we're in the Demon Domain, using my power over darkness feels like a second nature to me."

"That's not good," said Raxtus. "Seth, whatever you do, do _not_ give in to temptation! You could _defect_ to the dark side completely!"

"Will I be okay?" asked Seth.

"Not if you let yourself be completely overwhelmed by darkness. Whatever happens, it won't be good."

"He has a point," said Warren. "Seth, as long as you've already seized the serpent, or is it _serpents_? Err... maybe they can guide us to Murdred's castle?"

"Oh yeah," said Seth, as he turned to face the first head. "Hey, you! Tell me where Murdred's castle is and we'll let you go."

"Nooo," hissed the head. "I will never tell!"

"Why not?"

"Lord Murdred forbids it! He sent a proclamation throughout the Demon Domain, stating that your allies are to be eliminated on sight, and for you to be apprehended."

"Looks like things aren't gonna work out like that now, are they?" asked Seth. "Now tell me where the castle is!"

"Never! We'd rather _die_ than reveal the location to you!"

"Guys, the serpent isn't cooperating with me. He's not spilling the beans over where the castle is."

"Uh, maybe ask the other head?" asked Warren.

"I doubt it," said Seth. "Come on, let's just get out of here in case I somehow lose my hold over these guys."

As the heads were blocking the group at both ends, their only means of escape was for the dragons to climb up along one of the walls of the canyon. Using their claws as wedges, the dragons scurried up one of the walls, which went up a considerably high distance, easily on par with a large office tower. After climbing for several minutes, the dragons reached the top, and were now on a plateau full of rocks and other pieces of rugged terrain.

"At least we're out of that place," said Firesquall, as he extended his wings outward. "Now we can stretch our wings and fly!"

Before long, all the dragons had taken off into the air. They all ascended up into the air, until they were soaring high across the red sky of the Demon Domain.

"So, where do we go from here?" asked Ingrid.

"That's easy," replied Seth. "I'll just _sense_ where Murdred's castle is with my shadow charmer powers like I always do."

"Just as well," said Kendra. "The sooner we find Murded's castle and get this whole thing over with, the better."

Seth closed his eyes and began to focus. He proceeded to envision Murdred's imposing castle in his mind, and was hoping to get a telepathic feel for the place. Due to the fact that darkness was flowing all throughout the entire Demon Domain, the whole process had never been instantaneous; it usually took a good moment or so before he was able to get a feel for the vibrations that emanated from Murdred's castle.

Suddenly, Skyfrost and Firesquall both began to plummet down from their position in the sky, bringing Ingrid and Warren along with them.

"What are you..." asked Kendra, who was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

"HELP!" screamed Ingrid, as Skyfrost continued falling downwards in a tailspin.

"What's going on?" asked Seth, who opened his eyes just in time to watch as Geminus dove down after the falling wyverns.

"Get it together!" screamed Raxtus, as he and Geminus raced down, hoping to catch up with their sons.

"Skyfrost and Firesquall!" yelled Warren, holding onto a rapidly-descending Firesquall. "It's like they both fainted in midair!"

"They're not actually moving at their top speed," said Geminus "but I still don't know if we can catch them at this rate!"

"We're gonna crash!" shrieked Ingrid, who was holding on for dear life as Skyfrost neared in on the ground, which was continuously getting closer and closer to the ground.

"FAIRIES!" cried Kendra. "HELP!"

In an instant, every fairy who had been travelling with the group, albeit in hiding, suddenly appeared in midair, surrounding Kendra. Without any bit of hesitation, they all channeled their energies together. The combined energies formed a large rainbow, which shot down towards the two falling wyverns.

Kendra watched as the rainbow encompassed Skyfrost, Firesquall, Ingrid and Warren. Within seconds, the group of four's fall rapidly slowed down, until they had come to a complete stop in midair, no more than thirty feet above the surface of the ground. The two wyverns and their riders were now surrounded in a rainbow glow.

"Oh my god," gasped Ingrid, as she took in a deep breath. "We're safe!"

"Thank you," said Warren, "but Firesquall still seems to be out of it."

"Oh no," said Geminus, speaking in a voice that sounded deeply concerned.

"You saved them," said Kendra, speaking to all he fairies, "Thank you. But please, go back into hiding, all of you. You need to conserve your power."

"Understood," said Brillia, as she and all of the other fairies nodded, before vanishing into thin air.

Raxtus and Geminus both came down for a landing on the ground, just as Skyfrost and Firesquall slowly came down. The moment that the two wyverns gently hit the ground, the colorful magic that had been keeping them levitated suddenly disappeared.

"Firesquall!" cried Warren, as he jumped down from the green wyvern's backside, then knelt down next to his head. "Are you okay, buddy? Speak to me!"

Kendra and Seth both approached Skyfrost, whom Ingrid was now kneeling next to. Just like Firesquall, the blue wyvern appeared to be in some sort of trance. Skyfrost's eyes were open, but he seemed to be paying zero attention to his surroundings.

"I don't get it," said Seth, as he reached his hand out to pet Skyfrost on his head. "What happened?"

" _You_ are what happened," said Raxtus, as he grabbed Seth by his shoulders with his claw, pulling him away from Skyfrost before his hand could make contact with him.

"I didn't do anything!" exclaimed Seth. "I was on Geminus the whole time!"

"It was your sensing that did this," said Geminus. "Raxtus and I resisted it because we're fairy dragons. Skyfrost and Firesquall weren't so lucky."

Seth took in a deep breath. "I never even thought about that. I'm so sorry."

"One thing at a time," said Raxtus. "Geminus, our boys need us. I only hope we have enough energy to pull this off without exhausting ourselves."

Raxtus and Geminus both opened theirs mouths and proceeded to each blast a stream of fiery white light energy at the two wyverns. After several seconds, the energy streams came to a halt, and the wyverns appeared to be coming to their senses.

"Ohhh..." groaned Firesquall, as he shook his head. "What... happened?"

"Yeah..." said Skyfrost, as he got back up onto his talons. "What are we doing on the ground? Last thing I remember, we were up in the sky."

"Me too," continued Firesquall, "And I began to feel all numb and defenseless, too. It was weird."

"It was Seth," said Geminus. "He did his little sensing thing. Only, since the darkness within him has grown so powerful, it overwhelmed the both of you, causing you to fall down to the ground.

"You almost got killed!" exclaimed Raxtus. "It was the fairies that saved you, courtesy of Kendra."

"I said I was sorry!" snapped Seth. "You really think I'd do this sort of thing to my own friends and family?"

"You kinda just did..." said Geminus.

"I mean on purpose!"

"Cool it!" hissed Skyfrost. "I didn't see what happened, but I know for a fact that this was an accident. Even if it did almost get us killed."

"Not to mention that precious light energy had to be consumed in order to rectify it," said Raxtus.

"Look," said Seth. "I am **VERY** sorry that this happened. Four being who are very close to me almost lost their lives. And I'm aware of the fact that the darkness within me is continuously getting stronger. I already have enough to worry about. How much longer do I even have until I get to a point where I actually lose the capacity to so much as even _care_ about _anyone_? I want to get help while I still can, even if I end up jumping into things before I'm fully ready for them."

"Seth," said Raxtus. "I'm sorry. In light of what just transpired, I believe that Geminus and I owe you an apology."

"I'm sorry too," said Geminus.

"I'm just thankful to be alive after all this," said Firesquall, as Warren rubbed the wyvern's chin. "Alive and uninjured."

"Seth, did you at least get a feel for where Murdred's castle was during all of this hullabaloo?" asked Warren.

Seth shook his head. "No. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up. We'll find another way. We just have to. But next time, knowing what we know now, I won't try to sense for Murdred's castle while we're flying around up in the sky."


	28. Onslaught

**Chapter 28: Onslaught**

With their previous mishap behind them, The Knights of the Dawn and their four dragons allies had soon flown back up into the air of the Demon Domain. However, they were not flying anywhere nearly as high as before. Instead, they were only flying at a height of roughly two-hundred feet or so.

Having flown around for several minutes so far, the group had not yet succeeded in locating Murdred's castle. However, while locating the massive structure would've been optimal at this point, there was still an acceptable, more feasible second choice, should they so happen to find it.

"Up ahead," said Firesquall. "There's a mountain directly in front of us!"

"I see it too!" noted Skyfrost. "Slightly to the right."

"Is that it?" asked Kendra, who could see some sort of landmass off in the distance. "At one o'clock?"

"Beats me," said Firesquall. "We don't know much about telling time."

"I think I see what you mean," said Warren. "Carry on! You know, I'm glad you dragons are going to be getting home-schooled. There's a lot you need to learn."

"If we don't pull this off, we may not live to see the first day of school," said Ingrid.

"Don't remind me," said Seth, not wanting to think about the consequences as to what would happen if they were to fail their current mission.

Before long, the dragons had reached the mountain that they had spotted. The mountain was not enormous, as the summit was barely higher than the altitude they had been flying at. Having reached their destination, the dragons flew down onto a ledge near the very top of the mountain.

"Good," said Raxtus, as the riders all climbed down from their dragons. "On this mountain, Seth can remain up high, while still keeping his feet on the ground."

"Give it a shot, Seth," said Geminus. "The rest of you, stay by Raxtus and myself. We'll try to keep you shielded."

"Okay," said Seth, as he walked out towards the edge of the ledge. Looking down, he could see the crag of the mountain running down towards the ground below, which was a steep drop all the way to the bottom.

Seth closed his eyes. Once again, he attempted to sense the darkness that was flowing throughout the Demon Domain. As if it were a sixth sense of his, Seth soon felt a tingly feeling coursing its way through his body. Surely enough, he was able to sense a wave of darkness. Thought it was feint, it was easily the most potent negative vibration he could sense. Suddenly, it hit him. This was the exact same sensation he had felt when he had detected Murded's castle in the past.

Opening his eyes, Seth looked around, then pointed towards an eleven o'clock position. "That way! I sensed Murdred's castle!"

"You sure?" asked Kendra.

"Course I'm sure! At least, I hope I am. Anyway, it's the direction I was getting the strongest reading from. No reason not to check it out."

"I've got no objections," said Warren, as he hopped back onto Firesquall. "Seth, Geminus, lead the way."

Okay," said Seth, as climbed back up onto Geminus' back. "Let's go!"

The dragons took off from the ledge and flew in the direction from where Seth had sensed the force of darkness. With no other indication of whether or not they were heading in the right direction, the group found themselves but with no other choice than to follow Seth's intuition.

After flying in a straight line for several minutes, Seth spotted a large structure as it began looming on the horizon, probably about one mile ahead. "Up ahead! You guys see that?"

"I do!" exclaimed Skyfrost. "Could it be?"

"It is!" cried Firesquall. "It's Murdred's castle! Come on! We're almost there!"

"So what's the plan?" asked Ingrid.

"Simple," replied Raxtus. "We fly across the moat. Then, when we reach the other side, all the fairies will focus their energy upon the barrier. If we succeed in breaching it, terrific!"

"And if you don't...," said Seth, turning his head away from the group.

"Oh, Seth..." said Geminus.

Within a minute's time, the dragons were closely approaching the perimeter of the moat. However, before they could continue any further, a large, black figure suddenly crashed into Firesquall, knocking the wyvern and Warren off of their flight path.

"Oh my god!" gasped Kendra. "Are you okay?"

Before either Firesquall or Warren could give a response, the figure, which was constantly moving too fast to get a proper look at, swiftly flew towards Kendra and Raxtus. Kendra held on for her life as the fairy dragon was knocked aside, but still managed to stay airborne.

"You stupid thing!" snapped Firesquall. "Take this!"

Firesquall shot a blast of fire at the perpetually moving figure, which appeared to be vaguely humanoid and sported bat-like wings. However, none of Firesquall's shots managed to hit the figure.

"There's more?" exclaimed Ingrid, as several more figures appeared, and all proceeded to deliberately crash into each of the dragons.

"These guys are relentless!" said Skyfrost, as one of the figures collided with his wing. "It's too dangerous to fly across the moat with these guys assaulting us!"

"We better take care of these guys on the ground," said Warren, "before we go plummeting into the lava!"

The dragons all dove down towards the ground near the edge of the moat. As they descended, the creatures still continued to ambush them. Eventually, they reached the ground, where it would ideally be harder for the creatures to continuously charge into members of the group.

Now that they had landed, every member of the group faced in a different direction, including upwards.

"Where'd those things even go?" asked Kendra, who failed to spot any creatures zipping around in the air.

"Hey, as long as they're not bothering us, I ain't complaining," said Seth.

"Uh, you guys..." said Skyfrost cautiously.

"What?" asked Seth, who was wondering what Skyfrost was even fretting about.

"Oh no," chimed in Firesquall, as he pointed down along the edge of the moat with his wing.

Stampeding across the edge of the moat was what appeared to be a huge horde of various monsters. There had to be at least one hundred of them, too many to properly count and even so much as analyze. From what Kendra could tell, she couldn't make out entire figures within the crowd, just a mess of claws, horned heads, massive sets of needle-like teeth, and leathery, bat-like wings.

"Monsters!" exclaimed Ingrid. "And there's _way_ too many of them! We've got to get out here!"

"I didn't come all this way to run away!" snapped Seth, as he whipped out the Pyruby.

"Seth's right," said Warren, as he readied the Sapphazure in his hand. "We stand our ground."

Soon Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren were all holding their relics forward, while Skyfrost and Firesquall readied their breath weapons. By this point, the monster horde was only a number of yards away from the group. At this distance, it was possible to see just how large some of the monsters were; many were easily several stories tall.

"Now!" shouted Warren, as a stream off water gushed out of the Sapphazure. Likewise, the rest of the group all joined in with fire, ice and electricity. As for Kendra, she used the Emerock to rip out a chunk of the ground and hurled it towards the incoming monsters. While some of the monsters at the front of the pack hollered in pain, the crowd kept moving closer.

"There's too many of them!" exclaimed Ingrid, as electricity flowed out from the Diavolt. "We can't take them all on!"

Before running into the group head on, the horde of monsters spread out around the group, until they created a semicircle around them. The group was now surrounded on three sides, the vacant side being the edge of the moat. Now that hey had taken position, the monsters all stepped forward towards the group.

"What do we do?" asked Kendra. "We can't call upon the fairies! We need to save their power!"

"The fairies won't help now!" exclaimed Geminus. "This is too much for anyone!"

"We have to get out of here!" cried Raxtus.

Before Seth could so much as react, a large arm covered in shaggy orange fur reached forward and wrapped its fingers around him. The figure that had grabbed him let out a loud, booming chuckle.

"SETH!" shrieked Ingrid.

"Let me **GO**!" shouted Seth, as he tried to wriggle his way out of the monstrous claw that had grabbed him.

Suddenly, Seth experienced a strange feeling working its way through his body. He didn't quite understand what it was, but one thing was for sure. He was angry.

" **LEAVE US ALONE**!" roared Seth, who could feel as darkness flew out from every angle of his body.

At that moment, the monster that had been holding Seth placed him back down on the ground.

Everyone looked around at the monsters. In spite of their breathing and the occasional eye blink, all of the monsters were now standing completely still.

"What... happened?" asked Kendra.

"My darkness," said Seth. "I think it's grown stronger. Stronger enough to assert dominance over all of these creatures of darkness."

"This is bad," said Warren. "You may have stopped the monsters, but it's a sign that your condition's getting worse. We need to get away from these monsters and get into that castle right away!"

"I understand," said Seth. "Just one more thing. "Be gone, monsters! All of you! Get out of here!"

As if on cue, all of the monsters turned around and began walking away from the group, albeit in an unnatural, almost mechanized fashion.

"NO!" hissed a familiar voice. "Don't listen to him!"

"Turn around and finish the job!" said another voice.

Suddenly, the adlets emerged from the rear of the retreating crowd.

"You!" said Seth. "You three! Get out of here!"

"Hah!" scoffed Xipp. "Your darkness _is_ increasing! Too bad it's not enough to overwhelm _us_!"

"Darkness, shmarkness," said Warren. "It's eight against three. What are we afraid of?"

"Forget them," said Skyfrost. "These guys can't even fly! We can just ditch them!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Xeero.

As Kendra readied the Emerock, Xipp and Xeero bolted towards Skyfrost and Firesquall respectively. Within seconds, the wyverns and adlets had gotten into two rather vicious scuffles.

Meanwhile, Xillch pounced onto Raxtus, and proceeded to claw away at the fairy dragon's face.

"Fight them off!" snapped Seth, as he prepared to aim the Pyruby at Xipp, who was attacking Skyfrost.

"No!" exclaimed Warren, "you'll hit Skyfrost!"

At this moment, Xipp and Xeero bounced off of Skyfrost and Firesquall, both of whom were lying on the ground, looking severely wounded. Very suddenly, the two of them both assaulted Geminus.

"We've gotta do something!" shrieked Ingrid, as the fairy dragons fought against the wyverns.

"Like what?" asked Kendra. "If we attack the adlets like this, we risk hurting the dragons!"

Xillch then slammed Raxtus against the ground and stepped on his head, then joined his kin in ganging up on Geminus. Within seconds, the pink fairy dragon was down on the ground as well.

"Still think we're wimps?" asked Xillch.

"Now!" yelled Warren, as he attempted to blast the adlets with the Sapphazure, only for them all to leap away from the incoming stream of water.

Xeero came down and landed directly on Kendra, pinning her body down against the ground. She attempted to shove the blue adlet off of her, but he was simply too big and heavy. Likewise, Xillch did the same to Seth, and prevented him from getting up as well.

Xipp came down onto Warren, knocking him down as well. However, rather than keeping himself occupied with Warren, Xipp went over to Ingrid, knocking her onto her back. Unlike the other adlets, Xipp picked up Ingrid and proceeded to hoist her up into the air.

"Put me down!" screamed Ingrid.

"You give me the Diavolt, weakling!" hissed Xipp. "Now!"

"You can't have it!"

"Then I'll have you... for a snack!"

"HELP!" screamed Ingrid, who squirmed in desperation as Xipp attempted to shove one of her arms into his mouth.

"INGRID!" screamed both Kendra and Seth, who were both unable to get out from underneath Xeero and Xillch.

If there was any time for Kendra to ask for the fairies' assistance, it was now.

"FAI-" shouted Kendra, until Xeero covered her mouth with his claw.

Just as Xipp was about to sink his teeth into Ingrid, a long, metal blade came jutting out of left side of the adlet's chest, directly where his heart was. His teeth just about to clamp down on Ingrid's am, Xipp's body seized up and fell to the ground. Once Xipp fell, Kendra and Seth could see that Warren had been standing behind the adlet, and had stabbed him through the back of his chest with his sword.

Ingrid, who had fallen over while still in Xipp's grasp, was hyperventilating excessively, as Warren drew his bloody sword out of the fallen adlet.

"Xipp!" snarled Xillch as he and Xeero both turned their heads towards Warren.

" **YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS**!" roared Xeero, as he picked up Kendra and tossed her towards Xillch. Xillch then caught Kendra and pinned her down next to Seth.

Warren attempted to counter the incoming adlet with his sword, but Xeero pounced on top of him, knocking him to the ground.

"WARREN!" screamed Seth. With Xillch's claw now covering her mouth, Kendra was unable to say anything.

Warren fought ferociously to fend off the big adlet, but it just appeared to be too strong for him to deal with. As Xeero raised one claw into the air, Warren proceeded to kick the blue adlet directly in his groin. Xeero let out a yelp as he lost his grip on Warren, who slipped out from underneath the adlet and stood up.

Warren tried to back away from Xeero, but was unable to keep the blue adlet away any distance further than the tip of his sword. Warren swung his sword around in front of Xeero's face, only for the adlet to clasp onto the side of the blade with his claws.

While Xeero was preoccupied with the sword, Warren shot a blast of water from the Sapphazure at the adlet's face. Like a wet dog, Xeero shook off the excess water as best he could, then foolishly dropped Warren's sword in order to wipe his face dry.

As Xeero was still distracted by all the water that had soaked his face, Warren used the opportunity to pick up his fallen sword. Before Xeero could react, Warren swiped the sword directly though Xeero's neck. A moment later, Xeero's body fell down to the ground. At this point, Xeero's decapitated head slid off of his neck, landing in a bloody puddle in front of the fallen adlet.

"That just leaves you," said Warren, pointing his sword at Xillch.

"Oh yeah?" asked Xillch, as he leaped off of Kendra and Seth. Before the two siblings could get their bearings, Xillch had scampered over to Ingrid, picked her up, then lifted the girl over his head.

"Put her down!" yelled Warren.

"Drop your weapons!" quipped Xillch. "Don't try anything funny or I'll kill the girl!

Terrified, Warren proceeded to drop both his sword and the Sapphazure from his hands, which landed on the ground by his feet.

Kendra wanted to attack Xillch somehow, but feared that by interfering, the adlet would harm Ingrid. Even summoning the fairies might take too long.

"You're more of a threat than this pest," said Xillch, as he tossed Ingrid through the air. Ingrid screamed as her body went flying into Kendra, just as she had gotten up, only to fall back down again.

Seth watched as Xillch chased after Warren. Deep down, he wanted to do nothing more than to attack Xillch with the Pyruby, but knew that he risked hitting Warren. Soon Xillch had chased Warren to the edge of the moat, with nowhere for the human left to run.

"Kendra," groaned Ingrid, as she crawled off her sister's body. "I'm sorry."

Xillch quickly lunged at Warren, and succeeded in pinning him to the ground. Seth watched in horror as Xillch attempted to gnaw at Warren, who narrowly managed to avoid the adlet's razor sharp teeth by slipping directly underneath his wolf-like body.

Kendra got up just in time to see Warren angle his feet upwards and thrust them into Xillch's stomach. Xillch quickly lost his grasp on Warren and was stumbling around on all fours, trying to maintain his balance.

Warren quickly got up and took a few steps away from Xillch. Just as Xillch turned around to face him, Warren came running at Xillch at a high speed and delivered a flying kick directly into his snout. Xillch let out a yelp, then unconsciously stumbled a few steps backwards. However, Xillch failed to remember that he was standing at the top of a cliff, and proceeded to fall back off the edge.

Kendra, Seth and Ingrid had all gotten up, just in time to see Xillch falling down the cliff, loudly howling in distress until his body plunged directly into the lava, failing to reemerge.

Warren let out a deep breath. "Wow. Am I glad I don't have to fight _those_ three every morning!"

"And you never will again," said Ingrid. "Xipp, Xeero and Xillch. They're _dead_!"

"That was pretty awesome," said Seth, as he walked over to where the dragons were all getting back up onto their feet. "You guys better?"

"Yeah," said Skyfrost. "Mom and Dad were out for a moment, but they regained consciousness and healed us."

"Warren just took on all three adlets?" asked Firesquall. "By himself And won? But... how? They just creamed all of us!"

"Whatever I did, I'm not giving an encore," said Warren, as he picked up his fallen sword and Sapphazure.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Geminus.

"I'm a little bruised from all that," said Kendra, as she felt scrapes on her elbows, underneath her sleeves. "Nothing serious though."

"I think we all took a bit of a whooping," said Seth. "Those adlets fight dirty."

"I think a little healing is in order," said Raxtus. "You deserve it."

Raxtus and Geminus both exerted a white, mist-like breath upon Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren. Within seconds, Kendra and Seth could feel the pains and scrapes throughout their bodies suddenly healing up.

"Great," said Ingrid. "We're all better, and there's no more monsters to deal with."

"Ingrid," said Kendra, as she pointed across the moat to the castle. "There is still one final monster we need to deal with."

Seth slowly nodded. "And he is by far the worst one of them all."


	29. The Unstoppable Tyrant

**Chapter 29: The Unstoppable Tyrant**

Standing upon the edge of the moat, Kendra and Seth, along with the rest of their allies, all stared off at Murdred's castle, which was looming on an island in the center, separated by a vast sea of lava.

"This is it," said Raxtus. "Once we cross the moat, we'll be at the barrier. Is everybody ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be," said Warren, as he climbed up onto Firesquall's back.

"What if there are still monsters lurking in the lava?" asked Ingrid, as she got up onto Skyfrost.

"We'll just have to avoid them if there are any," said Geminus. "Hopefully, when we get to the other side, it won't take too long to penetrate the barrier, if it even is possible."

"And if we can't get through, I guess I'm not going anywhere."

"Seth, how can you say that?" asked Ingrid. "If we can't get through the barrier, you're staying with us!"

"No, Ingrid," said Seth, shaking his head. "I have to stay here. I'm too much of a hazard back home. Look, I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get this over with already."

With their riders all seated upon their backs, the four dragons all extended their wings, then took off into the air, flying directly over the lava-filled moat.

The flight across the lava proved to be fairly short, and no monsters made any effort to reveal themselves to the group. Before long, the dragons had stopped in midair, and were now hovering only scant yards before the front doors of the castle.

"The barrier still seems to be in place," said Raxtus. "Okay, Kendra. Do your thing."

"Wait," said Seth, was felt as though he could sense the barrier. As though the magic protecting the castle was almost tangible.

"What is it?" asked Kendra.

"I don't know," said Seth. "It's the barrier. I can really feel it!"

"What about it?" asked Warren.

"Just let me try something!"

Before anyone could respond, Seth held out his hands. Even though there was nothing in front of Seth for him to grab onto, he still got the sensation that he had grasped onto something in midair. Unable to so much as theorize as to what he was even doing, Seth pulled his hands apart, as though he was ripping something in half.

Suddenly, the strange sensation that Seth had been experiencing completely vanished. As though he had just destroyed it all on his own.

"Did you feel that?" asked Ingrid.

"You felt it too?" asked Kendra, who for some inexplicable reason felt somewhat more confident and secure.

"I can't sense the barrier anymore," said Raxtus. He proceeded to glide over towards the entrance to the castle, then came down for a landing on the entry platform. Before the moat had been expanded, one end of the bridge that connected the castle to the other side had been positioned here. Now it was just little more than an alcove in the wall of the castle that contained the front doors.

"Seth, what did you _do_?" asked Kendra, as Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all landed on the entry platform next to Raxtus and herself.

"I don't know," replied Seth, as he and his fellow knights all got down from atop their dragons. "It just felt like I could _manipulate_ the barrier somehow."

"That's not good," said Warren. "It may have gotten us past the barrier, but the fact that you can even do such a thing... it worries me. It's a sign that your darkness is only getting worse and worse."

"Please don't lecture me! We're here now, aren't we? Let's just rescue the Singing Sisters and get out of this place already!"

Skyfrost and Firesquall used their wings to grasp a handle on the two wooden doors that stood before the group and pulled on them, opening up to the vast entry hall of Murdred's castle.

"It's not all bad," said Kendra. "At least the fairies didn't exhaust their energy on the barrier."

The group cautiously entered the castle. As they took in the sights of the main stairs, high ceiling branching hallways, memories of previous visits went rushing through Kendra and Seth's heads, none of which were desirable.

"Which way is it to the sub-basement?" asked Warren.

"Let me think," said Seth, as he glanced around the entry hall, looking down the many halls that led to different sections of the castle. He then pointed to the hallway which he believed would lead to where the Singing Sisters were being held. "I _think_ it's down _that_ way."

The group proceeded to walk through the across the hall. This was it. They had finally made it back into Murdred's castle. At last they could rescue the Singing Sisters! Seth was so elated. Right now he didn't care even if the sisters would ultimately be unable to help him in his predicament. At least he would go down whilst trying to do the right thing.

The group was now only steps away from the hallway that stood before them. However, a wall of bricks seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and was now blocking off every last inch of the hallway.

"What the..." exclaimed Kendra.

"And just _where_ do you think _you're_ going?" asked a deep, furious voice from the rear, which caught everyone off-guard.

Everyone in the group turned around. As Kendra and Seth had feared, standing before them were none other than Murdred and Helwic. Every member of the group was simply too startled to think of anything to say to the Demon God. Just his mere presence was enough to make them tremble in fear.

"I really do not appreciate what you've done," said Murdred, his two visible eyes both glowing intently. "Sneaking into my home in the middle of the night. Penetrating my protective barrier. I don't know what you did to get through, but by doing so, you set off an alarm. An alarm that woke me from my sleep. You think I enjoyed being woken up like that?"

"You're one to talk," said Seth. " _You're_ the one who just released a demon into Fablehaven!"

"Because I could. And I did so immediately before going to sleep, just to test the portal. I didn't expect the demon to actually devastate the entire preserve. It was outnumbered. I anticipated its eventual downfall. But so what? It's only one demon. If I could send one demon through tonight, I could send a hundred through tomorrow."

"How could you do this to me?" asked Seth. "Altering my body. Changing who I even am? Why? What do you even want from me?"

"Surely you'd have figured it out by now," said Murdred. "You're a shadow charmer. And I'm the Demon God. Therefore, you are a rightful subject of mine. Yet you continuously keep going against my desires and beliefs, when instead you could ally yourself with me. Putting your abilities to a better cause. Well no more! Your little game ends here!"

Part of Kendra wished that this whole ordeal could just be a bad dream, and that she would momentarily safely wake up back at Fablehaven. Inevitably, that was not the case. She knew she would have to stand up to Murdred, and that was that. Kendra was feeling very tempted to become fairyprime, but was unsure if the time was right. She wasn't confident that she had the power to do anything, even if she were to become fairyprime.

"Warren," whispered Ingrid, "what do we do?"

As the knights spoke, Helwic seemed to be eyeing them very intently. She then glanced at Seth and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the Pyruby appeared in her hand.

"What the..." muttered Seth, as he reached around in his bag to see if Helwic was playing a trick on them. As he was unable to feel the Pyruby, it was clear that Helwic had used her magic to steal it.

"Why thank you, Seth," said Helwic, as she fondled the Pyruby. "I sensed that this relic was on your person. And it was. It's the real thing, Lord Murdred."

"Give it back!" snapped Seth, as Helwic admired the Pyruby that was in her hand.

"Now, Seth," said Murdred. "We had a deal, did we not? I allowed you to leave the Demon Domain, and you were to bring me back both the Pyruby and the Diavolt. But instead, I catch you sneaking into _my_ castle, no doubt coming solely to abduct the Singing Sisters. So guess what? The deal is off!"

"There's more where that came from," said Helwic, as she snapped her fingers again. This time, the Sapphazure, Emerock and Diavolt all appeared in her hands. "It paid to analyze the Necromaster. It gave me a feel for the wavelengths of the other relics."

"Yes!" blared Murdred. "At last! All the relics are mine! Give them to me, Helwic!"

"No!" roared Seth, as he charged towards Helwic. The negafae snapped her fingers, causing some sort of translucent, black force field to appear before her, which Seth crashed into. To Seth, it felt as though he had just ran into an invisible wall.

Helwic handed all of the other relics, including the Necromaster, over to Murdred. The Demon God proceeded to connect the relics together. The round Necromaster served as the center piece, while the other four triangular relics wee set around the side, forming a four-sided star.

"At last!" said Murdred, as the assembled Necromaster glowed in his hands. "The Necromaster is complete!"

This was the moment. Kendra couldn't hold out longer. It was now or never. "Fairies!"

At that moment, every single fairy who had been traveling alongside the knights in secret suddenly appeared around the group. With all of the additional numbers that the fairies brought, the group completely outnumbered Murdred and Helwic several times more than they previously did.

"You need to make me Fairyprime," said Kendra. "Now!"

The fairies all nodded, and their bodies began to glow in multitudes of varying colors. Seth watched as the fairies, along with Ingrid, Warren, Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all turned into glowing balls of light. The balls immediately all flew into Kendra.

Kendra then experienced her Fairyprime transformation, for the first time in a while, too. She could feel energy flowing through her body, while wings sprouted out from her backside. Lastly, her hair changed color from light brown to streaks of rainbow colors. Now that the transformation was complete, Kendra noticed that Seth did not join in. It was just as well, though.

"I don't fear you," said Murdred. "Not here. Not now."

Power flowing through her veins, Kendra held her hands forward and harnessed as much energy as she could towards them. Once enough power had been accumulated, a rainbow came flying out of Kendra's palms, which collided directly into Murdred.

Murdred laughed as the rainbow's light energy flowed into his body. "Is that all you've got?"

It wasn't working! Whatever the reason, Kendra's strength, even with the support of so many powerful fairies, including their very own queen, just wasn't powerful enough to overwhelm Murdred.

Murdred closed his two main eyes. His third eye slid open, and released a beam of white energy at Kendra. Upon being hit, Kendra's rainbow dissipated, as she found herself being hurled across the entry hall and landing on the stone floor. The impact wasn't all that painful, but it did make Kendra feel uneasy.

"Kendra!" cried Seth, as he watched his sister get back up onto her feet.

"I didn't even _need_ the Necromaster to deal with her," said Murdred.

"Then what do you need it for?" asked Seth. "Are you going to go on a killing spree or something?"

Murdred shook his head. "Hardly. Did you really believe that I wanted the Necromaster so badly just so I could _kill_ a bunch of people? Perish the thought!"

"Then, why?"

"For its power. The Necromaster is a tool of sheer power. Just by holding it in its functional, assembled form, I can at last feel how strong it truly is."

"And just what are you going to do with this power?" asked Seth nervously, as Kendra walked up next to him.

"With it, I'm increasing my own. Even right now, as we speak! My power is growing stronger and stronger! And as my power increases, my influence grows with it. And soon it will be time. Time for me to invade your miserable world and transform it into a world of my own design!"

"You can't!" exclaimed Kendra. "You just can't!"

"Don't tell me what I can't do! Helwic! Increase my size! Now!"

"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Helwic

The negafae held out her hands and shot a blast of fire at Murdred. Suddenly, Murdred began to glow, as his body started to expand in size. Although Murdred had normally been a fair bit larger than a normal human to begin with, he soon ballooned up to a height of over twenty feet.

Kendra and Seth stared up at Murdred in awe. Although they had seen creatures of far greater size, Murded was a whole other story. Even at his normal size, the Demon God was perpetually emanating fear. At this size, the vibe seemed to only be stronger. It was as though an even greater size wasn't even necessary for Murdred.

"What are you doing?" asked Kendra.

"Showing you I mean business!" retorted Murdred. "Helwic, open a portal to New York City!"

Before either Seth or Kendra could question Murdred's request, Helwic proceeded to conjure up a portal situated upon the floor. However, it was not large enough for the Demon God to fit through.

"Bigger!" hissed Murdred.

"Of course," said Helwic. "I'm not used to making larger portals."

" **Get** used to it," said Murdred.

Helwic used her magic to enlarge the width of the portal. As it expanded, the portal passed underneath Seth's feet, causing him to fall through it.

Seth immediately found himself coming out the other end of the portal, and was now falling down through the night sky. Looking down, he could see the island of Manhattan below him, all lit up by the lights of its innumerable towers.

Kendra came barreling out of the portal and swooped down towards Seth. She hastily wrapped her arms around Seth, and proceeded to fly back up towards the portal.

"Kendra," said Seth. "Thank you! But, you're going back?"

"If we don't stop Murdred, the world that's below us will be doomed!"

Kendra flew back up through the portal, returning to the entry hall of Murdred's castle, where she landed by the edge of the portal.

"Are you out of your mind, Murdred?" blurted Seth, who was still emotionally recovering from the fall.

"I knew you couldn't bear to lose your brother," said Murdred, glaring at Seth.

"This is awful," said Kendra. "Murdred can travel to and corrupt New York City in seconds!"

"Yes," said Murdred. "New York is such a diverse and integrated city. A real melting pot. And it sickens me. However, it is also a nexus of human society. By devastating a city of such magnitude, my influence will spread throughout the mortal realm like wildfire!"

"You can't!" exclaimed Seth. "You mustn't!"

"I **will**! Once I become powerful enough, I will invade not only New York, but other influential cities of the world! Los Angeles! London! Berlin! Toronto! Paris! And more! They will all feel my wrath! But that's not enough. No, not for me. I still have plans for the both of you."

"What do you mean?" asked Kendra. "Seth, I can understand. But me?"

Murdred laughed. "Kendra, you are to take my hand in marriage."

"What?!" gasped Kendra. " _ **Marriage**_?"

"You really are bonkers, Murdred," said Seth.

"This has nothing to do with love," said Murdred. "Kendra, if she knows what's best for her, will marry me."

"Why?" asked Kendra. "Why would I **ever** marry _you_?

"The Singing Sisters may not have divulged the whereabouts of the Diavolt, but they did share other tidbits of information with us. Yes, I know all about Kendra and her status as a handmaiden. How she is the rightful heir to the fairy throne."

"What are you getting at?" asked Seth.

"It's simple," replied Murdred. "I marry Kendra. Kendra then orders Brillia, the regent of the Fairy Kingdom to relinquish the throne to her, making Kendra the queen. And as Kendra's husband, I'll become king! I'll be the legal ruler of the Fairy Kingdom, and all the fairies will answer to me!"

"No!" said Kendra, shaking her head. "You can't! You mustn't! I'll never marry you!"

"And who's going to stop me? You? You couldn't stop me before. And with my increased power, **YOU NEVER WILL**!"

Murdred proceeded to open his third eye, then shot another blast of white energy directly at Kendra. Once again, Kendra went flying back several yards, and fell down to the floor. This blast felt different than the first. It made Kendra feel... weaker.

Suddenly, a few balls of energy went flying out of Kendra's body. Before she could react, the balls transformed back into Ingrid, Warren, Skyfrost and Firesquall.

"What happened?" asked Skyfrost, propping himself up with his wings, as he shook his head in disbelief.

"That blast..." said Ingrid. "It was so powerful, it forced us out of Kendra's fairyprime form."

"Even I couldn't withstand it," said Warren. "I'm just not powerful enough."

"Of course you couldn't!" said Murdred. "The four of you are the ones I fear the least. You're the weakest of them all!"

"Nobody calls us _weak_!" exclaimed Firesquall. "Come on, Skyfrost! Let's get him!"

Skyfrost nodded, and the two wyverns both proceeded to unleash their fire and ice breaths towards Murdred. However, both of their attacks fizzled out upon making contact with Helwic's force field, which was protecting both herself and Murdred.

"Is that the best you've got?" asked Murdred. "I'll show _you_ power!"

Murdred opened his evil eye again, and shot two blasts of energy in quick succession, each of which hit one of the wyverns. Within seconds, Skyfrost and Firesquall both lowered their heads. Next, their blue and green bodies quickly faded to greyish hues. It looked as though the wyvern twins had stepped out of a black and white photograph.

"Skyfrost?" said Seth. "Firesquall? Are you guys okay?"

Murdred let out a wicked laugh. "I've corrupted their minds! They don't care about anything one way or another! And as my power grows even stronger, those who feel it will be under my complete influence! They will respect _my_ values, and reshape the world how _I_ see fit! Including you, Kendra! Not only will I seize control of the mortal world, but when you become my wife, the Fairy Kingdom will be mine as well. And there's nothing you can do to stop me! Not this time!"

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all stared at Murdred with theirs mouths open wide in aghast. Murdred was right. The Demon God was becoming more powerful by the minute. And as far as they were concerned, they really _couldn't_ stop him. Lord Murdred had finally won.


	30. Judgement

**Chapter 30: Judgement**

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all stared at up Murdred. At his new size, the intimidating Demon God now towered over all of them.

"This can't be the end," said Kendra. "It just can't!"

Murdred let out a wicked laugh. "Just admit defeat. You know that I've already won. Since there's no use fighting, let's just cut to the chase. Kendra... say you'll marry me."

Kendra frowned at Murdred as furiously as the muscles within her face would allow. "You're insane! I would _never_ in my _life_ marry you!"

"You really shouldn't tease me like this. It'll get you nowhere in life. With that said, if you refuse to marry me, I will have to kill off your irksome friends."

"No!" shrieked Seth, as Murdred stared down towards Ingrid and Warren. As if on cue, Warren and Ingrid both drew their swords.

Murdred chuckled. "Now, which of you will die first? Both of you have brought such anguish upon me."

"Leave them alone!" cried Kendra.

" **SILENCE**!" roared Murdred. He quickly turned his head back towards Kendra, opened his third eye and unleashed another beam of energy at her.

The intensity of the beam felt stronger to Kendra than the previous. Second by second, Kendra began to feel her strength, both physical and emotional, getting weaker.

"KENDRA!" screamed Seth, watching in horror as the colors of his fairyprime sister's body began fading into greyscale, just like what happened to the wyverns.

"NO!" gasped Ingrid.

"Kendra!" cried Warren. "Don't give in! You can't can't! Give us a sign! Anything!"

Kendra did not respond. She remained completely still, seemingly experiencing the same trauma as Skyfrost and Firesquall. Not just Kendra, but all the fairies that were within her fairyprime form too were completely defenseless.

"That takes care of _her_ for now," said Murdred, as he turned back towards Ingrid and Warren. "Now, for these two... _pests_."

"Warren and Ingrid both lowered their swords, as they stared up at Murdred. Seth could sense that both of them now felt completely overwhelmed.

"Run, Ingrid!" exclaimed Warren, as he bolted away from Murdred, with Ingrid following immediately after him.

"Bring me the male," said Murdred. "I never cared much for _ladies first_."

Helwic snapped her fingers. In an instant, Warren magically appeared in front of Murdred. He attempted to run away, but was seemingly unable to leave the very spot he was standing on; no doubt an effect of Helwic's magic, as the negafae appeared to be holding him in place with some sort of mystical force.

"Stop!" screamed Seth, as he charged at Murdred with his sword. Murdred then reached down with his free hand and picked up Seth. The moment that Seth made contact with Murdred's oversized claw, he could feel energy surging back and forth between his own body and the Demon God's.

" **YES**!" laughed Murdred. "Thanks to that crystal, you have become a tremendous source of power for me, Seth! Why did I not think of this sooner?"

Using his other hand, Murdred readied the Necromaster, and prepared to aim it down at Warren, who was seemingly immobilized.

"STOP!" screamed Warren, holding an arm up in front of his face. Seth knew that such an action would not shield Warren in the least, but his poor cousin was completely defenseless.

Just then, Helwic let out a blood-curdling scream, which startled Seth, Warren and Murdred. Looking down at the negafae, Seth gazed in awe when he saw Ingrid standing behind Helwic, the tip of her blood-soaked sword sticking out of the front of the Negafae's chest, approximately where her heart was located. Unable to maintain her balance, Helwic toppled over onto her stomach, with Ingrid's sword protruding from her back.

Murdred growled furiously, then began to chase after Ingrid and Warren, who were running frantically in an attempt to escape him. Still caught in Murdred's grasp, Seth found himself forced to come along for the ride. They couldn't escape through the portal; they'd fall to their deaths.

As Murdred chased after Ingrid and Warren by taking tremendous footsteps, the two of them ran all the way across the entry hall towards a hallway at the far end. However, upon actually reaching the hallway, it turned out to be a dead end, blocked off by a wall that had been previously implemented by Helwic.

"Well, well, well," said Murdred, as Ingrid and Warren stared up at him. The two of them were cornered. The only way out was through Murdred. And they clearly had no way of dealing with him.

"NO!" screamed Ingrid. "We can't die. We just can't!"

"It's over," said Warren faintly. "We've lost."

"Everyone's doomed," said Ingrid. "Our whole world is going to be destroyed!"

"Why do you insist that your world is being destroyed?" asked Murdred. "If anything, I'll be making the mortal realm a better place!"

"You're going to start a _holocaust_!" bawled Warren, who now had tears running down his cheeks, as did Ingrid.

"Whatever it takes."

"You monster!" blared Ingrid.

"This conversation has been a waste of time. Prepare to die!"

Murdred proceeded to aim the Necromaster towards Ingrid and Warren.

"NO!" roared Seth, as he tried to wriggle himself free from Murdred's grasp.

"You know what?" asked Murdred, as he tightened his grip around Seth's body. "Just for that, I'm going to absorb every last ounce of your energy, Seth! Not only will I be supercharged, but these two of your deplorable family members will feel my power at maximum strength. Forget the Necromaster, I want these two to suffer as I kill them. Slowly..."

"Seth," said Ingrid. "NO!"

Seth watched as Ingrid and Warren, who had been standing next to each other with their backs to the wall, held each other's hands. At the same time, Seth could feel energy coursing through his body at an accelerating rate.

"More power!" laughed Murdred. "More! More! I am invincible! For ages have I yearned for such power! And now, at last, I have finally obtained it!"

Seth slowly began to feel weaker and weaker. To him, it felt as though all the life was being sucked out of him. Before long, Murdred would ultimately drain his body dry. Seth looked around at his fallen allies. Kendra, along with the fairies that were with her, was currently stuck in some kind of stupor, and appeared to have lost all the color from her body. Looking at Skyfrost and Firesquall, Seth saw that they too were also afflicted with the same bizarre condition. No doubt Murdred was likely to properly kill the wyverns off the moment he was done with Ingrid and Warren.

"HELP!" squealed Seth, barely able to muster up the energy to speak. "I'm getting weaker..."

"SETH!" cried Ingrid, who attempted to approach Murdred, only for Warren to keep her held back.

"I'm sorry, Ingrid," sobbed Warren, as he wiped away the tears from his eyes with his other hand. "There's nothing we can do."

Suddenly, Seth's entire body began to feel tingly inside. "What's happening to me?" he asked.

Murdred laughed manically. "At last! Seth's transgression into a demon is finally underway!"

"NO!" screamed Seth. "IT CAN'T!"

"SETH!" shouted Ingrid. "No matter what happens to you... or to us... just remember... I love you."

"I love you..." said Seth, who felt too weary to say anything further.

At that moment, the tingling within Seth's body continued to grow more and more intense. Suddenly, his entire body began to emit a strange, white glow.

"Here it comes!" laughed Murdred as Seth's glow only got stronger, his entire arm trembling in anticipation.

" _ **SETH**_!" screamed Ingrid and Warren in unison.

Murdred could only laugh as the strange tingling feeling within Seth's body became the only thing that he could even feel. The feeling had now become more severe than ever. All of a sudden, Murdred's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Without even so much as the slightest warning, Murdred let out a tremendous scream. He uncontrollably shook Seth around in his hand for a moment, before allowing him to fall several feet down onto the floor, where Seth landed on his hands and knees.

A strange feeling began to develop in Seth's backside. It felt as though two additional limbs were starting to grow from his body, tearing through the back of his shirt. Seth tried mentally to restrain the mysterious growths from expanding, but it failed to make any difference. Within seconds, the additional limbs had each grown out by several feet. However, the experience felt completely natural to Seth, as though it was supposed to occur.

"NO!" roared Murdred, as he shook his head, displaying the most shocked look on his face. "NO! THIS IS **IMPOSSIBLE!** "

Seth looked over at Ingrid and Warren, and saw that they too shared the same shocked face that Murdred was wearing. Seth knew that the growths on his back had startled them, but was afraid to see what they actually looked like.

"Oh my god," said Ingrid," who sounded as though she was about to faint.

"What's happening to me?" cried Seth.

"Seth..." said Warren, who sounded almost too choked up for words. "You're an _angel._ "

"An... _angel_?" asked Seth, as he reached back with his hand and felt smooth, silk-like feathers on one of his newly-obtained limbs, which he knew now were wings.

Murdred let out a furious snort, then glared down at Seth. "I don't know what sort of prank this is supposed to be, but the prank ends here!"

Seth got back up on his feet, and took a moment to absorb all the new information that had just entered his head. He was an angel now. But why? He had wings, but quickly concluded that he would be unable to fly to safety, especially at the cost of abandoning his allies. However, Seth knew that angel wings could do more than just grant the ability of flight.

Seth was left with little time to think, as Murdred proceeded to open up his evil eye. Knowing of the power hidden within his wings, Seth began to focus. As though it had been by pure instinct, Seth envisioned Murdred suffering a huge loss in power.

"Your wings!" gasped Ingrid. "They're glowing!"

Seth could feel energy surging through his wings as he expanded them outwards. Murdred proceeded to close his evil eye, as he shook his head in disgust.

"Trying to cancel out my power?" snarled Murded, "Well it won't work for long! Not in my domain!"

Murdred had a point. Seth was completely new to being an angel, and had little understanding of what they were truly capable of. What he had just done to ward off Murdred was a temporary solution at best. The Demon God was far too powerful for Seth to permanently stop. What Seth really needed right now, more than ever, was help.

With Murdred temporarily stunned, Ingrid and Warren slipped out of the area where they had been trapped and made their way around Murdred, stopping by Seth's side.

"This is too weird," said Ingrid, as she and Warren were now admiring Seth's new wings up close. Seth then turned away and glanced at Skyfrost and Firesquall, both of whom were still in an idle state.

"You think I can help them?" asked Seth.

"It just might work," said Warren. "Go for it!"

Seth closed his eyes, and focused on restoring Skyfrost and Firesquall. He felt as his wings expanded outwards, then as energy coursed through them. In a flash of light, color quickly returned to the wyverns' bodies, and they appeared to be coming to their senses.

"What's going on?" asked Firesquall," sounding rather confused.

"Seth!" blurted Skyfrost, "what's happened to you?"

"Whatever it is, it ends now!" hissed Murdred, as he loomed down at Seth and began to open his evil eye.

"Kendra!" exclaimed Ingrid. "If you were able to restore the wyverns, why not her?"

"I hope so," replied Seth, as he scurried over towards Kendra. Restoring the wyverns was one thing, but restoring his fairyprime sister, along with all of the souls of the fairies who were currently trapped within her, it seemed like an excessively tall order to fill.

"NO!" snapped Murdred, as he began to chase after Seth.

"We can't stop him!" exclaimed Warren.

Firesquall proceeded to shoot a dense cloud of smoke from his nostrils directly at Murdred's face. The Demon God slowed down as he wiped the smoke away from his face, but continued to pursue Seth. While Murdred was still distracted by the smoke, Skyfrost exhaled ice on the floor in front of him. Unable to see where he was stepping, Murdred slipped on the slick of ice and toppled over onto his back.

"Hurry," said Ingrid, as Seth stared at Kendra, who appeared to be completely lifeless in her current state.

As Murdred started to get himself back up, Seth focused on Kendra, closed his eyes and spread out his wings. Mustering up every last bit of strength that he could, Seth envisioned Kendra coming back to life, and at full power. Seth knew that as he stood now, he lacked the power to stop Murdred. It was up to Kendra, even though her previous attempt had failed.

As energy flowed through his wings, Seth opened his eyes just in time to witness Kendra's colors returning to her body, including her rainbow fairyprime hair.

As Kendra regained her awareness, the first thing she saw was Seth standing before her, now sporting a pair of golden, feathery, angel wings.

"Seth!" shrieked Kendra, "what's going on? You're an angel? But... How...?"

"It's a lot to explain!" muttered Seth, as Murdred got back up onto his feet. "But now's not the time! You need to stop Murdred right now! I... can't!"

Kendra couldn't believe what she was seeing. Seth was an _angel_? But how? The pieces just didn't seem to add up. Nevertheless, Kendra had her power back. She needed to focus on the problem at hand.

"Is this the best you can do?" grumbled Murdred. "Neither of you are powerful enough to defeat me. Just surrender already! You're only wasting my time!"

"Kendra, please stop him!" said Seth.

Feeling full of power, Kendra held out her hands towards Murdred and proceeded to blast a rainbow directly at the Demon God. However the force of the rainbow didn't seem to afflict him in any way. His hand still clenching the Necromaster tightly, there was a solid black glow pulsating through the gaps between Murdred's scaly fingers. With power such as that at his disposal, Kendra could tell that it was no surprise that Murdred was able to withstand her rainbow.

"I'm... just not powerful enough!" griped Kendra. "Murdred's too strong, even for me!"

"I was able to stop him before I restored you," said Seth. "But it wasn't enough to truly stop him! It was only temporary."

"Do it again!"

Seth extended his wings and focused on weakening Murdred. At that same moment, Murdred opened his evil eye and it began to glow white. However, at the same time that Seth's power peaked, the evil eye stopped glowing.

"Give it up!" blared Murdred, covering his eye with a hand. "You cannot defeat me! And before long, you will both have exhausted your powers. And that is when it will be all over for you!"

"Don't give in, you two!" exclaimed Ingrid. "You need to give it your all!"

"But _our all_ isn't good enough!" cried Seth.

"You have to try," said Warren. "You two are our last hope."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Kendra's head. "Seth! I have an idea! I may not be strong enough to stop Murdred. And you may not be strong enough either. But maybe we can stop him... _together_."

"What do you mean?" asked Seth.

"Hold my hand. Hopefully, we can combine our powers."

Seth sided over next to Kendra, while Murdred glared at them quite intently. With Seth standing at her side, Kendra held out her left hand, which Seth clasped onto with his right. Now that the two of them were holding hands, Kendra and Seth could now feel an incredible force flowing back and forth between the two of them.

"That tears it!" snapped Murdred, as he opened up his evil eye. "I don't care if there's twenty of you, you'll never..."

At that moment, Kendra held her right hand forward and shot a vibrant rainbow from it directly at Murdred. The impact of the rainbow was powerful enough to slowly push Murdred away from them. However, even with the rainbow pushing against him, Murdred proceeded to slowly walk back towards Kendra and Seth, chuckling to himself.

While Kendra was still assaulting Murdred with her rainbow, Seth held out his left hand. As if it were second nature to him, Seth exerted a beam of golden energy from his hand at Murdred, flying parallel to Kendra's rainbow.

Together, the two beams of brilliant energy pushed back against Murdred with twice the strength of one. As effective as the concentrated light attacks were, Murdred still appeared to be advancing forward, while struggling only mildly.

" **You... cannot... win**!" said Murdred, speaking in a dead serious voice, sounding far more determined than when he normally spoke. Without closing his two normal eyes, he proceeded to open up his evil eye again. Only this time, all three of his normally solid-white eyeballs were glowing red.

"Kendra..." said Seth, "we're still not strong enough for this!"

At that moment, Kendra felt something that she had failed to notice during all of the commotion. Vasilis. Not only had she been wearing the sword on her back the entire time, but right now, she could feel power coursing through the blade.

With Seth still holding off Murdred with his golden energy beam, Kendra ceased her rainbow, then reached behind her shoulder with her right hand with and drew Vasilis from its sheath. As Vasilis was now brimming with power, Kendra held the sword forward, between Seth and herself.

"Vasilis?" asked Seth, "but how?"

"Somehow, our combined powers must have got it working," said Kendra.

As only Seth's energy beam was now holding him back, Murdred was nearing in on him and Kendra. "What are you _doing_?" he blared.

"Defeating you!" shouted Seth, as he stopped his energy beam, then set his left hand on the hilt of the sword next to Kendra's. At that very moment, something incredible happened to Vasilis. The guard of the sword inexplicably expanded out to resemble a pair of pegasus wings, while the blade twisted itself into a spiral, reminiscent of a unicorn horn. Lastly, the entire sword turned completely into solid gold, and was glimmering in a rainbow of colors.

"NO!" roared Murdred, who had been marching towards Kendra and Seth, and was only steps away from them.

"Now, Seth!" exclaimed Kendra. Together, the two siblings thrust the sword directly at Murdred.

As though the sword had a mind of its own, it flew straight up to Murdred's head and corkscrewed itself directly into his evil eye. Everyone else watched as an array of glowing colors began flowing down Murdred's body, wiping away his naturally black scales. Within seconds, Murdred's entire body had been overtaken with a palette of vibrant colors and was glowing fiercely.

" **NO**!" snarled Murdred in agony, clenching his hands as his glistening body suddenly exploded before everyone's eyes. Colorful sparkles went flying all throughout the room, akin to a fireworks display.

"He's gone..." said Seth, who could feel his heart beating furiously. "We did it. We defeated Murdred. For good."


	31. Fall of an Empire

**Chapter 31: Fall of an Empire**

Kendra and Seth stood in the center of the entry hall of Murdred's castle, staring into each other's eyes. Kendra proceeded to take in a deep breath.

"This is incredible," said Kendra, who found herself barely unable to withhold her excitement. "We... actually defeated Murdred! The Demon God. He's gone, Seth! We won!"

"I know," said Seth. "Plus... I'm an angel too! But... how?"

"Wish I knew. I don't get it, either."

"Still, it doesn't make any sense!" said Ingrid. "Nobody just _becomes_ an angel! Especially if they're on the verge of becoming a demon! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Whatever caused it was unbelievable!" exclaimed Warren, as he, Ingrid, Skyfrost and Firesquall all approached Kendra and Seth.

"Is he really gone?" asked Ingrid. "For good? It's not some sort of trick?"

"That didn't look like a trick to me," said Skyfrost.

"It was too _awesome_ to be a trick," said Firesquall.

"Check out those wings," said Skyfrost, as he placed a claw upon one of Seth's golden wings.

"Look at Vasilis," said Warren, who had picked up the sword that had been used to impale Murdred. "It's different now. You've changed it."

"Why's that?" asked Ingrid.

Before anyone could respond, the floor beneath Kendra began to feel kind of funny. Intrigued, Kendra stamped her foot down. To her surprise, the floor did not feel entirely solid. It almost felt like mud. Looking down, Kendra saw that her boot was roughly an inch underneath the surface of the floor.

"What's happening?" asked Kendra, as she pulled her boot out of the floor. As her boot came out, the floor rippled, almost as though it were made of water.

"Whoa!" gasped Skyfrost, as bounced a few feet into the air, then flapped his wings to keep himself aloft. "I nearly sunk through the floor just now."

"No kidding!" chimed in Firesquall, as he too floated up next to his brother.

"Oh my god!" muttered Ingrid, as she, Kendra, Seth and Warren all began to slowly sink down into the floor. "We're sinking!"

"We gotcha!" said Skyfrost, as he grasped onto Ingrid with his talons, while Firesquall did the same with Warren.

"Here goes nothing," said Seth, as he flapped his wings, then took rose up several feet off the floor.

"You did it!" said Kendra, as she too flapped her wings and floated up next to Seth.

Seth fluttered around in the air a bit, but he was by no means as stable as Kendra was when it came to staying in one spot.

"This is all so much!" said Seth, as he place a hand upon Kendra's shoulder, trying to maintain his balance.

"Don't worry," said Kendra, "I too was a little shaky when I first became fairyprime!"

"We'll teach you all about flying later," said Skyfrost, as he placed Ingrid on his back after grappling her with his tail.

"But perhaps somewhere a bit safer," said Firesquall.

"What's happening with the floor?" asked Ingrid.

"This is just a theory..." said Warren, "but as the Demon God, Murdred was the nexus of the entire Demon Domain. And he had no heir. Without a god to govern the realm, the Demon Domain seems to slowly be destabilizing."

"Destablizing?" exclaimed Ingrid. "We can't stay here! Quick! Let's just go through the portal to New York!"

"NO" blurted Seth. "We still have to help the Singing Sisters! If the Demon Domain is about to collapse in on itself, we can't let the sisters die along with it!"

"We've got to get to the Singing Sisters!" exclaimed Kendra. "And we've got to reach them now!"

"You know where to go don't you, Seth?" asked Warren. "Lead the way!"

"Right," said Seth. "It's down that way!"

Kendra then followed Seth towards the hallway he led her and the wyverns towards. No that he was able to move about, Seth found that flying with angel wings was actually quite manageable. Of course, he had flown a few times on his own in the past, including when he had been transformed into a dragon by drinking Hespera's potion. The group reached the hallway, but stopped as it was still blocked off by Helwic's magic wall.

"Now what?" asked Seth. "Is the wall even still solid?"

Extending her hands, Kendra blasted a beam of colorful energy at the wall, causing it to burst open. With the way clear, the group made their way though the hall, then stopped in front of the stairs that led down to the subbasement.

"That stairway is too narrow for us wyverns to fly down," said Skyfrost.

"We'll have to land," said Firesquall. "But if we land, we'll sink through the floor!"

"Run down the stairs quickly, then?" asked Warren.

"I've got a better idea," said Kendra, as she waved her hands around and directed sparkles at Skyfrost and Firesquall. A moment later, the wyverns stopped flapping their wings, but remained levitating in midair.

"Weird," said Skyfrost. "It's like we're flying, but without actually... you know... flying."

"Come on!" said Seth, as he and Kendra flew down the stairs, while the wyverns followed close behind.

The group proceeded to make their way down towards the bottom of the stairs, although the venture felt as though it had taken longer than it should have. Once they did reach the bottom, they found themselves in the labyrinth of tunnels that ran underneath the castle.

"Come on!" said Seth, as he proceeded to fly off down the first tunnel. "I think I remember the way to the sisters!"

As the group flew through the tunnel, Kendra and Seth caught on to something that was quite peculiar. The walls, ceiling and floors of the tunnel appeared to start swaying themselves back and forth, creating a sort of warble effect.

"What's going on?" asked Skyfrost. "I don't remember all of this last time we were down here."

"Yeah," chimed in Firesquall. "Is this some sort of trick?"

"It kinda reminds me of a funhouse," said Ingrid.

"This place is the opposite of a funhouse!" said Warren. "The entire Demon Domain is becoming more and more unstable by the minute! We've gotta get out of here before the Demon Domain implodes on itself, with us in it!"

"But the Singing Sisters!" cried Seth as he crashed into a wall, just as it bulged outward from one side.

"Seth, Warren's right!" exclaimed Kendra, as the wall swayed back into its original position. "Singing Sisters or not, we can't stay here!"

"I know!" replied Seth, as he continued down the hallway. "But I owe it to the Singing Sisters to rescue them! I promised!"

"What if we can't make it?" asked Skyfrost.

"I refuse to answer that!"

Seth veered around a corner and continued down another hallway. Up ahead, Seth witnessed the entire hallway closing in on itself on all sides, effectively blocking off anyone who might try to proceed.

"Oh no!" said Seth.

"Seth, this is a dead end!" said Firesquall. "Are you sure you're going the right way?"

"This _is_ the right way! Or at least, it _was_! Dammit!"

"Hold on," said Kendra. "Let me try something!"

Kendra held out her hands and shot a rainbow directly at where the hallway had closed itself up. Mustering up all the power that was within her, Kendra tried as hard as she could to divert the closed-off wall, but couldn't so much as budge it.

"It's too thick!" said Kendra. "Nothing but who-knows-how many feet of solid rock! Not only that, but underneath the castle is where Murdred allegedly found all those darkness crystals! No way my power is at full strength down here!"

"It's hopeless," said Ingrid. "We'll never reach the Singing Sisters."

"If it worked before," said Seth, "maybe it'll work again! I _am_ an angel now. Hopefully I can do this."

"Do what?" asked Kendra.

"I just have this feeling..." said Seth, as he extended his wings and stared at the wall intensely. Before long, his golden wings began to glow vibrantly. Suddenly, the sealed-off tunnel began to stretch back into its original position, restoring the passage it originally provided.

"It worked!" exclaimed Seth, as he smiled in admiration at his accomplishment. "I really _can_ work miracles!"

"We're not out of the woods yet," said Warren. "As cool as that was, even _you_ can't stop the Demon Domain from collapsing. Come on!"

The group continued through the unsteady tunnels that ran beneath Murdred's castle, swerving around the walls as they stretched outwards and then back in.

"This is insane!" exclaimed Ingrid. "That hallway that caved in completely... What if _we_ had been inside of it?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if Seth's light energy and my own somehow repels the unstable structure of the Demon Domain," said Kendra. "But, the Demon Domain is getting worse and worse by the minute! If we don't get out of here soon, nothing will protect us!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" blurted Seth. "But it's hard to fly in a narrow tunnel that keeps moving around!"

Seth made his way around yet another corner. At the end of this next tunnel was the door to the room where the Singing Sisters were being held prisoner, roughly one-hundred feet away.

"There it is!" cried Seth, as he flew down the tunnel towards the iron door.

As the group made their way roughly halfway down the tunnel, Kendra felt something going on behind her. Looking, back, she saw that the ceiling of the tunnel was crashing down to the floor, and that it was continuing down the hallway, progressing towards the group.

"Faster!" said Kendra "This tunnel's closing up from behind!"

Seth looked back at the shrinking tunnel, and flew as fast he he could towards the door, as did the rest of his allies. Stopping in front of the door, which was shifting along with the rest of the castle, everyone glanced back and saw that the hallway was still closing in towards them.

"Open the door!" exclaimed Kendra.

"Even if we get inside, we'll still get crushed!" muttered Ingrid.

Seth attempted to exert more energy through his wings, but felt very weak inside "I can't stop it!"

"Guys, the door's open!" said Warren, as he pushed the iron door inwards, revealing the room where the Singing Sisters were being imprisoned. "It's hard for the door to stay sealed when everything's shaking around like this."

The group bolted into the room wobbly dungeon. Trying to keep their balance in the center of the dank room were the Singing Sisters. Kendra, along with every other member of the group sans Seth were in awe; they had never seen the Singing Sisters with their own eyes before.

"Oh my goodness," said Ingrid. "Those are the Singing Sisters?"

"Seth Sorenson!" exclaimed Orna. "Is that really you?"

"What have you done?" asked Berna.

"There's no time to explain!" said Seth. "We've got to get you out of here now! Kendra! Open a portal now!"

"I-I-I don't know how!" muttered Kendra.

"So power down from your fairyprime form and let a fairy do it!" said Skyfrost.

"It'd be dangerous to let out all these fairies right here. Maybe I can just release one. I hope." Kendra proceeded to take in a deep breath. "Bracken! I need you to exit my body! Please!"

Suddenly, a ball of white light came flying out of Kendra's body. As it did, Kendra felt as though she had lost a fair bit of power. The ball then transformed into Bracken.

"This place is crazy," said Bracken, as he stumbled around on the shaking floor for a moment before floating up into the air. "Anyway, I believe you wanted a portal."

Bracken waved his hand around and caused a portal to appear in front of him.

"Go on," said Seth, gesturing the Singing Sisters towards the portal.

"We are immobile," said Wilna. "Please help us!"

"I'll do it," said Kendra, as she directed some magical sparkles at the Singing Sisters, causing them to rise up into the air.

"Hurry!" said Ingrid, the room is getting smaller!"

As Kendra directed the Singing Sisters into the portal, she too saw that the very room they were in was gradually closing in on itself.

"Hurry!" said Bracken. "Skyfrost and Firesquall, you're the biggest, so you go next!"

Carrying Ingrid on his back, Skyfrost floated into the portal, and was followed immediately by Firesquall and Warren.

"Now you two," said Bracken, looking at Kendra and Seth.

Following Bracken's guidance, Kendra and Seth both flew into the portal, which brought them back to the yard at Fablehaven, where the rest of the group was waiting for them underneath the night sky.

"We made it!" exclaimed Seth.

"Hold on," said Kendra, looking back at the portal. She immediately felt as though her heart had been struck by lightning "Bracken! Where is he?"

"He never made it through!" said Seth.

"We have to go back for him!" cried Kendra, as she dashed back into the portal, along with Seth, Ingrid and Warren.

Returning to the dungeon at the other end of the portal, the unstable room had now gotten considerably more compact, with barely any room left for the knights to stand in. Worst, however, was that Bracken appeared to be trapped in the wall just a few feet in front of the group; only his head, upper body and arms were still exposed.

"HELP ME!" cried Bracken, who was squirming to try and get out of the wall, but couldn't break free.

"Use your magic!" said Ingrid. "The room's getting smaller!"

"I can't! I'm too exhausted!"

Kendra aimed a rainbow at the wall around Bracken, but failed to penetrate it. Desperate, Kendra grabbed onto Bracken's arms and attempted to pull him out of the wall. Not only was it hard for her to stand on the wobbling floor, but the wall was simply too thick to break with her strength.

Ingrid grabbed Kendra by her shoulders from behind. In turn, Warren did the same thing to Ingrid, and Seth grabbed onto Warren's shoulders, with the portal right behind him.

"We can't break it!" cried Kendra, as the ceiling lowered itself against her head, forcing her and the other knights to crouch down. They were all pulling as much as they could, but were unable to budge Bracken from his spot.

"We're gonna get crushed!" said Ingrid.

"Forget me!" exclaimed Bracken. "Save yourselves!"

"NO!" said Seth. He shut his eyes and allowed his wings to glow with every last ounce of strength he could muster. Suddenly, Seth found himself being forced back through the portal to Fablehaven, as though he had been spat out, and fell down onto the lawn. Warren, Ingrid and Kendra followed, along with Bracken.

"What happened?" asked Firesquall.

"That was _too close_ ," said Bracken, taking in a deep breath.

Without any warning, the portal that was floating in front of everybody inexplicably shriveled up before their eyes, and had effectively disappeared.

"We did it," said Kendra. "We made it... It's over. It's finally over."

Kendra stood up, gave Bracken a hug and planted a kiss on his lips.

"As knowledgeable as we are," said Wilna, "even _we_ have questions about all this."

At that moment, all of the fairies who were within Kendra reappeared around her, causing her to regress from her fairyprime form.

"As do we," said Brillia.

"Warren!" said Clover, as she ran over to her husband and gave him a strong hug. "You're okay!"

"We're all okay," said Warren, as he kissed Clover in return.

Most of the fairies had now gathered around Seth, and were admiring his wings.

"How can this be?" asked Shiara.

"It's like Murdred tried something, but it backfired horribly," said Brook. "In a good way, I mean."

"Brillia," said Seth, turning to face the Fairy Queen. "Or anyone who might know... Can you please tell me... Why am I an angel?"

Brillia rubbed her forehead. "I don't know the answer to that, Seth. Before this angel thing happened, your body was brimming with darkness."

"Is there still any darkness within Seth?" asked Ingrid.

"I shall check," said Brillia. "Seth, please stand completely still."

Brillia held up her hands and waved them around in front of Seth's body. A few seconds later, she put her hands back down.

"Incredible," said Brillia with a smile. "I was unable to detect any darkness within you, Seth. However, there is substantial light energy within you. Not that there shouldn't be, for you _are_ an angel now."

"But why?" asked Seth. "Why did I become an angel? I was on the verge of turning into a creature of darkness, and I was at the core of the Demon Domain with the Demon God himself."

"I don't know the specifics as to _why_ ," replied Brillia, for I am not hugely knowledgeable on the subject of angels. "However, I do know this. You're a good person, Seth. Even as a shadow charmer, even when your body had been infused with darkness, your true nature still prevailed. Dark magic is powerful, but the heart of an honest, loving, caring person is even stronger."

"It may have been a residual side effect from when Hope, Air Flair and Windshear tried to cure you," said Bracken. "Just a theory."

"So Seth's an angel," said Kendra. "What's going to happen now?"

"Well, I can't think of anything that we _should_ do," said Bracken. "You know who needs to see this, though... Hope and Air Flair!"

"With all due respect," said Orna, "we would really appreciate it if we could be taken back to our home."

"Of course," said Warren, as he removed the Translocator from his bag. "Can somebody give this thing a charge? It may be the last time for a while, come to think of it."

"Can I try it?" asked Seth.

Warren smiled. "Okay. Sure!"

Seth placed his fingers upon the Translocator. He could then feel energy flowing through his hand and into the artifact. He was doing it. He was charging the Translocator!

"I think that did it," said Seth.

"Okay," said Warren as he held the Translocator before the Singing Sisters, "think of home and we'll be off."

"We will," said Berna. "And Seth, we know it's late, but please come back and see us soon. We have still have a bit of unfinished business to attend to."

Seth nodded. "I will."

Warren pressed the Translocator against the side of the Singing Sisters and twisted it, causing him and the sisters to vanish. A few seconds later, Warren returned by himself.

"Okay," said Warren. "They're back home safely."

"I think it's time we all went to bed," said Kendra. "This whole ordeal has been exhausting, and it's the middle of the night!"

"We'll help you rest up," said Bracken. "Leave it to us, and you knights will all return to your beds and fall into a deep, soothing sleep."

"Sounds good," said Ingrid.

The fairies all stood before the knights and waved their hands around. Sparkles flew out of their hands and circled around the knights. Kendra and Seth began too feel very tired. Within seconds, their eyelids closed shut, and they had all fallen asleep.


	32. Answers

**Chapter 32: Answers**

Seth slowly opened up his eyes to find that he had just awoken from what felt like it had been a deep sleep. Pulling down the sheet that had been covering his face, Seth found himself being greeted by the bright sunlight was pouring in through his bedroom window.

For the first time in quite a while, Seth had finally woken up after having a good night's sleep. He felt so relaxed for a change, that part of him just wanted to lie in bed all day and never have to get up.

Taking a moment to think, memories of the previous night all came rushing back into Seth's head. Had they really all ventured into the Demon Domain and defeated Murdred? It all felt so real, but right now, it seemed like it could have been nothing more than a strange dream. He couldn't even remember how he made it back to his bed, just that he had fallen asleep shortly after coming out of the Demon Domain.

An obvious memory suddenly hit Seth like a ton of bricks. He had become an angel during the whole ordeal! Therefore, he would inevitably still have his wings!

Seth sat up in his bed, now discovering that he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Needing to know the truth, Seth reached behind his shoulder and placed his hand down against his backside. Assuming that he would've felt a pair of fluffy, feathered wings, Seth experienced a feeling of emptiness as he rubbed his fingers back and forth across his bare shoulder blades.

Seth bounced off of his bed and scurried over to his dresser. Turning to his side, Seth looked in the mirror and was able to see that his back was its usual bare self. There was no sign of him ever having any wings on his back.

Seth then peered into his clothes hamper. Sitting at the top of the pile of dirty clothes within the hamper was the shirt he had been wearing yesterday. Strangely, there were no holes in it that his wings could have pierced through. Either the fairies must've mended it when they put him to sleep, or this whole ordeal had been in his imagination.

Whether he still had wings or not, Seth needed to know the truth. He ran out of his bedroom, down the hall and up to the attic. He then opened the door and found that Kendra and Ingrid were still sleeping in their beds.

"Kendra!" exclaimed Seth. "Ingrid! Wake up! Both of you!"

Kendra and Ingrid both groaned, then slowly rose up from underneath their covers.

"Seth?" asked Ingrid wearily.

"Last night?" asked Seth. "Was it real? Did it really happen?"

"I think so," said Kendra.

"My wings! They're gone!"

"What?" asked Ingrid. "Let us see."

Seth turned around, allowing his back to face his sisters.

"But you had wings," said Kendra. "I remember them."

"Me too," said Ingrid, nodding.

"But last night," said Seth. "It was real, right? We defeated Murdred? I'm not crazy?"

"We did," said Kendra. "And it was incredible."

"I'm gonna get dressed," said Seth. "Meet me downstairs."

Seth went back downstairs and washed up in the bathroom, then went back into his bedroom to change into a fresh set of clothes. He then went over to Warren's bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Warren?" asked Seth. "You in there?"

There was no response. Curious, Seth opened the door and saw that the room was empty. The bed looked like it had recently been slept in, as Warren was not known for making his bed on a regular basis.

Seth went down to the first floor, then turned towards the direction of the kitchen. As curious as he was about everything, right now Seth just wanted some breakfast.

"Seth!" said Grandpa, whose voice came from the living room as Seth walked past it. "Come in here!"

Seth turned back then made his way into the living room. Surely enough, Grandpa was waiting in there for him, along with Grandma, his parents, Warren and Dale. All of them were smiling widely.

"Warren and the fairies told us everything about what happened last night," said Grandma, just as Kendra and Ingrid made their way down the stairs and entered the living room.

"What's going on?" asked Ingrid.

"You did it!" said Mr. Sorenson. "He's really gone!"

"Seth Andrew Sorenson," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Kendra May Sorenson. You defeated Murdred! For good!"

Kendra and Seth both smiled in glee. Their parents' words were like music to their ears.

"It's true that we defeated Murdred," said Kendra. "But we couldn't have done it without our friends. The dragons were a great help, and I never could have become fairyprime without the fairies."

"Don't forget Warren," said Seth. "Those adlets could've killed us. But Warren kicked their asses! And Ingrid... She just _killed_ Helwic!"

Warren grinned. "And Ingrid killed Helwic from behind. Just like I did with Xipp."

"What can I say?" asked Ingrid as she eyed Warren. "I learned from the best."

"That's not all," said Grandpa. "Seth... You're an angel now?"

"I was," said Seth reluctantly. "But those wings I had... they're gone."

"What?" asked Warren, as he got up from his seat and went over to inspect Seth's back. "How?"

"I don't know," said Seth. "Maybe we should ask the fairies. They might know. But, can we have something to eat first? I'm starving."

"Of course," said Grandma. "Come with me."

Grandma got up and led the entire family not into the dining room, but rather the kitchen. From there, she opened up the back door to the house and led the group out onto the patio and into the backyard.

Waiting for the family in the backyard was an enormous gathering of fairies. From what Kendra could tell, every fairy angel was there, as were the dragons, Stargleam, Windshear, Newel and Doren, the reindeer, Hugo and Mendigo. The moment they approached the crowd, it responded with an eruption of cheers.

"We told everyone of your triumph," said Brillia. "We're all so proud of you."

"You defeated Murdred," said Bright. "You brought an end to him and the Demon Domain. We cannot thank you enough."

"No longer will anyone have to live in fear of Murdred or that horrible Demon Domain," said Stargleam, as she and Windshear walked through the crowd towards the group. "We're so proud of you all."

"And... you're an angel now..." said Windshear, as he approached Seth, staring at Seth and nodding in approval.

"Show us your wings!" said Doren.

Seth shook his head in distraught."I'm sorry. I _was_ an angel, yes. But those wings I had... they're gone."

The crowd responded with all sorts of murmuring among itself.

"How're they gone?" asked Bravia. "They were intact when we put you to bed."

"But when I woke up, they were just... gone," said Seth. "

"This doesn't make any sense," said Brillia. "There's a lot I don't know about angels, but if Seth became one, even though he was formerly a shadow charmer, there's no reason for the angel within him to inexplicably vanish."

"I think Seth needs to be evaluated again," said Bracken. "See if whether he's still technically an angel, a mortal human... or if he even went back to being a shadow charmer."

"I agree," said Brillia, as she walked up in front of Seth. "Seth, may I?"

"Okay," said Seth.

Brillia held out her hands and waved them around in front of Seth's body. She was soon smiling throughout the process. After she was finished, Brillia lowered her hands.

"Well?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

"I believe its safe to say that Seth is not a shadow charmer anymore. Nor is he a mortal."

"You mean, he's an _angel_?" asked Grandma.

"I'm not sure. I sensed substantial light energy flowing through his body. However, I was unable to figure out what purpose it serves. I don't think we'll ever understand just how exactly Seth became an angel when he did, but we have our theories. This light energy that's within him seems to be residual, from when he d _id_ become an angel."

"So why am I no longer an angel?" asked Seth.

"I have no absolutely no idea," replied Brillia.

"We still have Vasilis, though," said Warren, holding up the sword in its new form. "And the relics, too. Ingrid and I picked them up just after Murdred was destroyed."

"We inspected the relics," said Brook, who was holding the aforementioned jewels in her hands. "And we discovered two things. First, the relics have been altered, presumably by Vasilis, since Murdred was holding them when he was stabbed. They are no longer tools of darkness. Secondly, the Necromaster was nowhere to be found."

"What do you mean?" asked Kendra

"We were unable to find it when we gathered the relics," said Ingrid. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you."

"The Necromaster was the darkest of the relics," said Bravia. "Like Murdred, it couldn't withstand the light of Vasilis."

"Which I helped power up," said Seth. "And now, that power just... disappeared!"

"Cheer up, Seth," said Dale. "We've got a whole banquet set up in your honor!"

"That does sound good. I _am_ pretty hungry."

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren were all led to where several long tables had been set up. A plentiful assortment of breakfast foods had been placed out on the tables, including fruit, crepes, toast, pancakes, waffles, sausages, bacon, eggs, hash browns and juices. Everyone helped themselves to the various foods, then sat down at a table and proceeded to eat.

After eating a hearty breakfast, Seth got up from his seat and walked over to where Grandpa was sitting, currently digging through half a grapefruit with his spoon.

"Grandpa," said Seth. "Is this it? Our mission is complete?"

"Of course," replied Grandpa. "I commend all of you on a job well done."

"Not only did you defeat Murdred," said Grandma, "but you rescued the Singing Sisters as well."

Seth proceeded to smack his forehead. "The Singing Sisters! I'm not done with them! They still want me to come back and see them!"

Grandpa gave Seth an peculiar look. "Why on Earth would they want that? I thought your deal with them was to rescue them in exchange for providing information about the Diavolt."

"I know. They asked that I come back to see them when I get the chance. But I still want to see Hope. See if she can make heads or tails of how I managed to become an angel. I think we owe it to her to pay her a visit. Even if she can't help me, the least we can do is give her the good news."

"I understand," said Grandpa. "After this breakfast is finished, I suggest that your group head on up to Wingadoon and pay a visit to Hope and Air Flair right away."

Seth nodded. "Absolutely."

After everyone had finished eating, the crowd slowly started to disperse. Most of the fairy angels headed back towards the fairy shrine, for they still had their duties to attend to.

Seth soon met up with Kendra, Ingrid, Warren, Clover, Bracken and Windshear near the back of the house. Warren proceeded to twist the Translocator he had been holding, and held it out so that everybody could touch it.

"Let's do this," said Seth, as he and the rest of the group all made contact with the Translocator, as Warren twisted the artifact. Within the blink of an eye, Seth and Kendra found themselves no longer standing by the house at Fablehaven, but instead had returned to Wingadoon, where they were near Hope's residence.

Seth scurried over to the front door of Hope's home and knocked upon it. Several seconds later, he got a response in the form of footsteps making their way to the door. Once they stopped, the door opened up, with Hope standing on the other side.

"Seth!" gasped Hope, as she looked over Seth's shoulder at the rest of the visitors who were standing behind him. "Hi! Uh, what brings you folks here?"

"You'll never believe what happened!" exclaimed Seth, as Air Flair, who had been flying in the vicinity, came down and landed nearby. "We defeated Murdred!"

Hope placed her hand before her mouth, displaying the blankest look on her face.

"You're kidding," said Air Flair.

"Not kidding," said Clover. "Let us explain."

After sitting down on some nearby benches, the group went on to tell Hope and Air Flair all about what went on at Fablehaven, and recapped a significant portion of their final foray into the Demon Domain.

"And at that point, I was completely powerless against Murdred..." said Kendra. "Nobody else could stand up to him, and he was usurping Seth's unstable dark energy, which only made him stronger."

"Then how did you stop him?" asked Hope.

"You'll never believe me," said Seth.

"Tell us!" said Air Flair.

Seth took in a deep breath, then looked directly at Hope and Air Flair. The two angelic beings were both staring back at him with the most sincere look in their eyes. Seth pondered that he would feel nothing but remorse if he lied to them. But this wasn't a lie. It was a truth that he could not prove. Which ultimately didn't make Seth feel anymore confident.

"I became... an angel."

Hope and Air Flair both dropped their jaws in astonishment, then shook their heads in unison.

Seth nodded. "I sprouted wings! It's like I could create miracles."

"Seriously?" asked Hope. "You expect us to believe _that_?"

"You're pulling our wings," said Air Flair. "And don't take what I'm about to say personally, Seth. But you're a shadow charmer. You're not exactly _angel_ material."

"Besides, even if you weren't, nobody just _becomes_ an angel. You have to be born one."

"You know, I've had a hard time swallowing this whole story myself," said Windshear.

"That's enough!" said Bracken, holding up his hand. "Yes, I understand that Seth becoming an angel seems a tad far-fetched."

Hope and Air Flair both glared fiercely at Bracken.

"All right. _Very_ far-fetched. But we were all there. We can vouch for Seth on the claim that he became an angel! We would never condone such a lie!"

"I want to believe you," said Hope. "But if Seth's an angel, please prove it."

"I can't," said Seth. "I had wings, but they're gone."

"He no longer emits dark energy!" stated Clover. "In fact, he now contains light energy."

"Really?" asked Hope, as she held up her hands before Seth and moved them around, no doubt trying to sense for any darkness. After a moment of sensing, her face lit up.

"Well, one thing is for sure. Seth's body is completely devoid of dark energy. You're absolutely right, Clover, there is light energy flowing within him now. But still, it does nothing to prove that Seth is, or even was... an angel. It could just be residual fairy energy."

"You don't believe us?" asked Kendra. "Seth becoming an angel is what saved us all! All of our combined fairy energy just wasn't enough!"

"It's clear that _something_ went on involving Seth," said Hope. "And I really want to believe you. Honest! But your story leaves much to be desired. And more importantly, you lack _proof_."

"I really was an angel!" blurted Seth. "Please believe us!"

"Look. Angels are not like mortals. We are beings of honesty and purity. Accepting an outlandish claim as a definite truth is just something I cannot do."

"She's correct," said Windshear. "Deep down I _want_ to believe your story. But without proof, I will not accept it as fact."

"We're not calling you a liar, Seth," said Air Flair. "Please try to understand."

"You really don't believe us, do you?" asked Bracken, sounding disappointed.

Seth closed his eyes. He had to prove that he had been an angel to Hope and Air Flair! But how? There was just no reasoning with those two. His shirt from yesterday was lacking wing holes, and even if it actually had holes, Hope would probably just dismiss them as a some sort of prank.

Suddenly, Seth experienced a strange sensation within his body. His backside began to feel all tingly. Without any so much as a warning, two angelic, feathery golden wings came bursting out of Seth's back, tearing through his shirt. Everyone responded by displaying a blank expression on their face.

"Oh my goodness..." said Hope faintly.

"He really is... an angel." said Air Flair.

"No way..." said Windshear.

"Is this for real?" asked Hope nervously. "You fairies aren't playing a trick on me?"

"It's real," replied Clover. "We _promise_."

"I never thought I'd see another angel ever again," said Hope, as tears began to swell up in her eyes.

"I told you it was real," said Seth. "You said it yourself. Angels are honest."

Saying nothing, Hope wiped some tears from her eyes and walked around Seth, no doubt to examine his wings up close. After coming back around to Seth's front, Hope proceeded to wrap her arms around Seth, embracing him in a hug. She then brought her wings forward, encasing them around Seth as though she was hugging him with a second pair of arms.

"Seth, I can't even remember the last time I felt this happy. I was elated when your group first came to Wingadoon. But you being an angel... This is something else entirely!"

"This is unbelievable," said Air Flair.

"What even caused this?" asked Hope, releasing her grasp on Seth.

"We're not sure," replied Bracken. "As noble as Seth's heart is, it alone would not have been capable of making him an angel. An outside force clearly had a hand in all this. Possibly when you three tried to cure Seth the last time he was here."

"That would be incredible," said Air Flair. "Maybe we were responsible for this. But... exactly what sort of angel are you?"

"What do you mean, exactly?" asked Seth.

"Well, you were born a mortal, were you not?" asked Hope.

"Yeah..."

"And you became a shadow charmer. But _then_ you became an angel. But you're still a mortal to an extent. Otherwise, your wings would be permanent. And all the other angels had permanent wings. Just like I do."

"Perhaps I'm not a true angel like you," said Seth. "If anything, I'm more akin to Kendra, who's fairykind, yet not a true fairy."

Hope smiled. "There's no name for what you are, because you're the first. But if anything, I guess that makes you... well... angelkind."

"Angelkind?" asked Seth.

"There's a first time for everything, I suppose."

Seth grinned in admiration. "You know what? That sounds pretty... awesome."


	33. Redemption

**Chapter 33: Redemption**

Their business in Wingadoon now concluded, the group consisting of Seth, Kendra, Ingrid, Warren, Clover, Bracken and Windshear returned to the yard at Fablehaven by way of the Translocator.

Seth looked at his surrounding friends and family, smiling contently. "You know something, I think this may very well be the happiest day of my life."

"My sentiments exactly," said Warren. "After all, our venture into the Demon Domain technically _was_ today, just very early in the morning."

"Yeah," said Ingrid. "You became an angel, Murdred and his minions are gone, as well as the Demon Domain! Seth! You became an angel! That's incredible!"

Seth nodded, then swayed his wings back and forth. "Come on! Let's go show the others!"

The humans and fairies all dashed towards the house, barging in through the front door.

"Mom, Dad!" said Seth. "Grandpa! Grandma! Dale! My wings are back!"

Within the next few seconds, the other members of the Sorenson family hurrying into the entry hall of the house. The moment they each laid eyes upon Seth, they appeared to be in shock.

"I can't believe this," said Grandpa. "I just can't."

"Not that I doubted you or anything," said Dale. "But... holy!"

Suddenly, Seth's wings began to feel funny. They both felt as though they were shrinking. Only they weren't actually shrinking; they were retracting back into his body.

"My wings!" cried Seth. "What's happening?"

"They just went back into your body, somehow," said Kendra, staring at Seth's back. There were now two holes in his shirt where his wings used to be.

"Seth, what'd you do?" asked Grandma.

"I don't know!" replied Seth, reaching back with his hand to try and feel his missing wings. "I didn't do anything this time!"

"Let's back up a minute here," said Dale. "Seth, how did you get your wings back just now?"

"I don't really know. You see, Hope and Air Flair desperately wanted to see my wings, and I had no way of proving it! But I focused really hard, because I had to prove I was being truthful, and they grew back!"

"That doesn't make much sense," said Mr. Sorenson.

"Actually, I have a theory," said Clover.

"What's that?" asked Ingrid.

"You see, Hope told me once that angel powers are latent. That they cannot be abused, and will only function when they need to function. They manifested not just because Seth defied his demonic influence, but because he _needed_ a way to defeat Murdred. And he _needed_ a way to escape from the Demon Domain and rescue the sisters. And Bracken."

"And because we all made it back safely to Fablehaven, Seth no longer needed his wings," said Bracken. "Ergo, they retracted. However, they came back when we went to Wingadoon, because Seth had to prove that he was angelic to Hope and Air Flair."

"Hope said I was angelkind," said Seth. "Kinda like how Kendra is fairykind."

"Seth, we are so proud of you," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she gave her son a hug.

"Congratulations," said Mr. Sorenson. "But... does this mean you're no longer a shadow charmer?"

"I guess not," said Seth, now mulling over the fact. "I guess that means I can no longer manipulate darkness, shade walk, control dark creatures, or any of that other cool stuff. I hadn't really thought of that yet."

"People can change, Seth," said Grandpa. "Besides, don't feel bad about it. You only became an ally of the night partly due to extreme situations. You pulled the nail from the revenant because it needed to be done, not because of what it would ultimately do to you."

"You should be honored," said Warren. "Don't worry about what you can no longer do, and think about all the new stuff you _can_ do."

Seth nodded his head slowly. "I suppose you have a point. And I am looking forward to where being angelkind will take me in life. But still, some of those abilities were pretty useful. Not only that, but there's a lot we still don't know about how angelkind even works."

"Wonder if you'll find a way to sprout your wings _without_ wrecking your shirt," said Ingrid.

"Kendra, how do you do it?" asked Seth.

"Magic," said Kendra. "But fairies are different. No idea what an angel should do."

"Guess we'll find out over time," said Bracken, as he shot a small blast of white energy from his finger at Seth's back, sealing up the holes in his shirt.

Mrs. Sorenson nodded. "You know what, your timing couldn't have been more perfect."

"Why's that?"

"The fall semester. Your new year of school starts next week."

Seth and Ingrid both rolled their eyes. "That's great, Mom. Really."

"Actually, Seth, you still have one final task before the school year starts," said Warren.

"What's _that_?"

"The Singing Sisters. Don't you remember? They asked for you to come and visit them once all this commotion died down."

"What do they want now?" asked Grandma.

"Guess I'll find out soon enough," replied Seth.

A few minutes later, after freshening himself up, Seth returned to the living room. Waiting for him there was the rest of his family. Warren was standing next to the doorway, clenching the Translocator with his hand.

"Thanks for coming along with me, Warren," said Seth.

"No problem," said Warren. "I'm not entirely sure that I actually need to come, but I understand that you could use the moral support."

"I just wish I knew what the Singing Sisters actually want with me. I really hope they just want to give me a proper thanks, because I am _done_ with doing other peoples' errands."

"Best of luck," said Clover, as Warren twisted the Translocator.

Seth placed his hand on the Translocator and Warren twisted it again, hurling them from the living room at Fablehaven and into the cavernous alcove that served as the entrance to the Singing Sisters' lair.

"Well, here we are," said Warren, as he slipped the Translocator into his bag.

"Here goes nothing," said Seth, as he knocked on the large wooden door that stood before them.

A few seconds later, Seth could hear footsteps approaching the other side of the door, which then swung open. Standing on the other side was the river troll who was usually on duty.

"Seth Sorenson!" said the river troll. "We've been expecting you! Come on in."

Cautiously, Seth stepped through the door, waving back at Warren. Once he was through, the river troll closed the door.

"So, what is it that the Sisters want with me?" asked, as he followed the river troll through the tunnel.

"That information is strictly confidential," replied the troll. "But you'll find out momentarily."

The river troll led Seth down the stairwell and into the lair where the Singing Sisters sat. Once again, the three of them were back in their proper home.

"If it isn't Seth Sorenson!" said Orna. "Our hero!"

Seth nodded in approval. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"Thank you!" said Berna. "On behalf of all us, we are forever grateful."

"Now then," said Wilna. "I suppose you're wondering why we summoned you here. After all, your agreement with us was to rescue us from Murdred's castle in exchange for the whereabouts of the Diavolt. And surely enough, our information was correct, and you did ultimately pull through, even though you did cut it very close."

"I know," muttered Seth. "It's a miracle we were actually able to rescue you three."

"And you're angelkind now, are you not?" asked Berna.

"How'd you know _that_?" asked Seth. "Are you spying on me?"

"No," replied Orna. "We have our _ways_. But I think we're getting ahead of ourselves."

Seth sighed. "Well, I came back, like you asked. What is it that you want from me?"

All three sisters chuckled amongst themselves.

"What's so funny?"

"Seth," said Wilna. "We don't want anything from you. We asked you here to get something from _us_."

Seth's eyes widened greatly. "What do you mean? I don't need anything else from you!"

"Allow us to explain," said Orna. "You went out of your way to help us. On top of that, you asked for the location of the Diavolt only because you were forced to by Murdred. Not because you wanted it out of your own free will. On top of that, you put yourself in great danger in order to rescue us.

"Even though your pact with us wasn't genuine, we've still chosen to honor it," said Berna.

"Anyway," said Wilna. "For not only saving our lives, destroying Murdred and terminating the known Demon Domain, we have decided to grant you one free favor."

Seth took a moment to absorb what he was being told. "A free favor? You mean, I can ask you for information about _anything_? And I don't have to do anything in return?"

"Absolutely," replied Orna. "We'll retrieve the information you seek, and that will be that. You will owe us nothing in return. But just this once."

"Wow," said Seth in astonishment. "I'm not even sure what to ask for."

"We could find out what exactly caused you became angelkind," said Berna. "Or how to better control your new ability."

"Hold it," said Seth. "This is a big decision. I need to stop and think about this."

"There's no rush," said Orna. "Take your time."

Seth took a deep breath. "You mind if I take a brief walk?"

"Go right ahead," said Wilna.

Seth nodded, then walked back up the stairs to where the river troll was waiting.

"You done already?" asked the river troll.

"No," said Seth. "But I'll be back."

"Whatever," said the river troll, as he opened up the entry door for Seth, where Warren was waiting around on the other side.

"Hey, Seth," said Warren, trying to read the look on Seth's face. "Did everything go all right?"

"Great," said Seth. "I'm just kinda torn right now."

"What do you mean?"

"The Singing Sisters granted me a free favor, as a reward for all I've been through. No obligations on my part at all."

"Seth, that's amazing! Do you have anything in mind?"

"Not exactly. I don't have any more loose ends to tie up at this point. Can you think of anything?"

"Don't give _me_ any ideas," said Warren, trying to hide a smirk. "This favor sounds like a blessing, and it's for you. You might want to give it some serious thought."

"Warren, I love you like a brother," said Seth. "And you're a very creative thinker. Is there anything at all that I should ask for?"

"Seth, take some more time to think about this. Let's go home. We can come back here whenever you want."

A million thoughts suddenly ran through Seth's head, prompting him to shake it in response. "Warren, if I go home, everyone's going to put a lot of pressure on me about this favor. It'll be way too stressful."

"I see," said Warren, as he rubbed his forehead. "Well, there is one thing I know that Clover and all the other fairies would appreciate. The Fairy Queen. They've never been able to locate her ever since she took on Murdred several months ago."

"You're saying I should ask the sisters for her location?"

"Bingo. That is... if you're willing to go through with it. No pressure or anything."

"I could..." replied Seth. "Or what about the Omega Star? That's missing too! If I could obtain the whereabouts of it, we could find it and simply wish for the Fairy Queen to come back!"

Warren nodded, then shook his head. "Sounds like a gamble to me."

"How so?"

"The Fairy Queen could be in a place the Omega Star can't retrieve her from, like the Demon Domain. Or what the Demon Domain used to be, at least. If you do get the Omega Star, you might still not be able to wish for the Fairy Queen to return."

Seth sighed. "At least we'd have the Omega Star."

"And who's to say it'll still work properly? Or if the five instruments are all still intact?"

"But, what if it's not?"

"Seth, I'm just analyzing the situation at hand," said Warren. "This is your favor. I can't tell you what to do with it. You can ask about the Fairy Queen. You can ask about the Omega Star. Or you can pick door number three."

Seth closed his eyes for a moment and thought to himself. "I think you make a good case. I'd like to go back to see the Sisters now."

Warren nodded, as Seth went back to the door and knocked on it. The river troll opened it up and Seth passed through.

"Back so soon?" asked the troll.

Seth nodded, then went back down the stairs into the Singing Sisters' lair.

"Have you decided already?" asked Wilna, as she and her sisters peered down at Seth.

"I have," said Seth, nodding in approval. "I would like to know where the missing Fairy Queen is, and how to retrieve her. I'm talking about Queen Sylvia, not Brillia."

"Ah, a wise request," said Orna. "Very well, if that is what you desire. We shall search for her."

"One question," said Seth. "What happens if you're unable to find the Fairy Queen?"

"Then you may ask for something else," replied Wilna. "But if we manage to locate the Fairy Queen, that's it. She's yours. Dead or alive. No further questions"

"As this is a free favor, said Berna, "there is no need for a pact. Ready, girls?"

Orna and Wilna both nodded. The three sisters proceeded to hum, as they raised their arms up into the air. The maggot that dwelled in their puddle started to wriggle and squirm faster and faster, until it popped on, revealing a purple substance across the surface of the puddle, which glowed momentarily.

At this point, the sisters' humming came to an end, as they lowered their arms. They all blinked simultaneously, causing a piece of parchment to appear in front of Seth, floating in midair. Seth grabbed the parchment, but did not look at it.

"It is done, Seth," said Orna. "That parchment, if you follow the directions on it precisely, will lead you to the Fairy Queen. You will need the help of your fairy friends to reach her, but we presume that it is within their capabilities to do just that."

"Is she... alive?" asked Seth.

The Singing Sisters threw up their arms. "Simply retrieving her whereabouts what exhausting enough," said Wilna. "We know not of her current condition."

"A deal's a deal," said Berna.

"I get it," said Seth. "No refunds."

"Precisely," said Orna. "I'm glad we were able to help you. Once again, it's the least we could do after you saved us."

"Of course," said Seth, who couldn't help but think that the Sisters were being somewhat stingy, considering what lengths he went through to help him. Still, this was a free favor. They were under no obligation to offer Seth anything at all. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," said Wilna. "On your behalf, we hope that no extenuating circumstances ever lead you back to us."

"Not that we wouldn't mind granting another favor," said Berna. "For a price!"

The three sisters all erupted in a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, see ya," said Seth, as he head back up the stairs, while the sisters continued to laugh. Clasping onto the parchment in his hand, Seth made his way back out the door a second time, where Warren was again waiting for him.

"I did it," said Seth, holding up the parchment. "But we're going to need the help of the fairies in order to get the Fairy Queen back."

"I hope this actually works," said Warren, as he twisted the Translocator and held it out. Seth placed his hand on it, and the two of them were quickly whisked back to the living room at Fablehaven.

"We're back!" shouted Seth, trying to get his voice heard by everyone else in the house. "Come down to the living room!"

Within a minute, every member of the family, as well as Bracken, had gathered around in the living room.

"So, what happened?" asked Grandpa, who was sitting down in his armchair.

"The Singing Sisters offered me a free favor. And I accepted."

"A free favor?" gasped Grandma, who appeared to be just as astonished as everyone else in the room.

"Yeah. In exchange for helping them so much."

"Seth, you should give this favor some serious thought," said Bracken.

"I already have," said Seth.

"You _did_?" asked Kendra. "W-w-w-what did you ask for?"

"I got directions. To locate the Fairy Queen."

The room went completely silent. Everyone was speechless. Bracken, however, looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"You're kidding..." said Bracken, whose voice sounded as though it was about to crack.

"I hope I'm not," said Seth, handing the parchment he was holding to Bracken. The unicorn prince then glanced at the parchment.

"What does it say?" asked Kendra.

"Mother is stuck in a sub-dimensional limbo, and lacks the strength to escape."

"She's _alive_?" asked Ingrid.

"I don't know," replied Bracken, shaking his head. "But with the specifications I now have, it's possible for me to reach her. I have to do so. I must."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Grandma.

Bracken nodded. "It looks similar to accessing the Demon Domain. I just need to focus in a specific way when I conjure up the portal. Of course, the odds of anyone figuring this out on their own are probably a trillion-to-one.

Bracken then ran out of the living room and out through the front door.

"Bracken, wait!" exclaimed Kendra.

The whole family got up and followed Bracken out of the front door, which he hadn't even bothered to open. Now standing on the front lawn, Bracken waved his hand around, causing a portal to appear before him.

"I'll be right back!" said Bracken, as he stepped through the portal. "Don't follow me!"

"Bracken's stepping into the unknown!" cried Kendra. "What'll we do if he doesn't return?"

"I think Bracken just went cuckoo," said Seth, as everyone walked over to the portal.

A minute later, Bracken stepped back out through the portal, carrying the Fairy Queen in his arms.

"Oh my god," said Kendra. "He really did it."

Bracken, then set his mother down on the grass. As he bent down, Kendra and Seth could see that tears were flowing down his cheeks.

"It's really her," said Warren. "Is she still... alive?"

"She's alive," sniffed Bracken. "Just unconscious. She's very weak."

Bracken then stood up and walked over to Seth. Wiping away the tears that were in his eyes, Bracken stared directly into Seth's. Without saying anything, Bracken held out his arms and embraced Seth in a very firm hug.


	34. Vows

**Chapter 34: Vows**

Having recovered his mother from the sub-dimensional void which she had been perpetually trapped in, Bracken bid farewell to everyone at Fablehaven. He then headed back to the Fairy Kingdom, bringing the Fairy Queen with him. After all the commotion that had gone on in the past few days, things felt like they were finally starting to dwindle down. The Demon God was no more, and everything else felt like it was back to the way it should be. For the most part.

Some time later, Kendra, Seth and Ingrid found themselves lying down on chairs by the poolside. As it was not a very humid day, the three siblings were wearing their casual clothes, rather than swimsuits.

"Kendra," said Ingrid, as Kendra stared up at the clouds that were drifting across the sky above her. Kendra thought for a minute that one of the clouds resembled the wing of a pegasus. Or possibly an angel.

"Kendra!" said Ingrid a second time.

"Sorry," said Kendra. "I still can't get my mind off the fact that my brother... is angelkind now."

"It's weird," said Seth. "Right now I don't feel any different than before all of this commotion happened."

"You have to have changed _somehow_ ," said Ingrid.

"He has," said Kendra. "The darkness that was once contained within Seth is gone. Instead, there is now light energy flowing through Seth's veins."

"You know, I kinda enjoyed being a shadow charmer," said Seth. "This whole thing just happened without having to give it much real thought."

"Seth, it was your body's way of fighting off the demonic influence that Murdred forced upon you. As powerful as it was, the love inside your heart prevailed by forcing out your true nature."

"It's hard to believe that I could become an angel," said Seth. "You being fairykind, I can kind of see where that came from. But me? An angel? How?"

"Because you're a good person, of course," said Kendra. "I guess you could say that your true nature just wasn't compatible with Murdred's forced darkness."

Seth smiled. "You got that right! I think I might enjoy being angelkind. It seems to compliment you being fairykind."

Ingrid nodded. "That's great, Seth. I- I'm proud of you."

Ingrid then got up from her seat.

"Ingrid, are you okay?" asked Kendra. "You sound a little perturbed."

"I'm fine, Kendra. "I just need some time to myself for bit."

Kendra and Seth both watched as Ingrid walked away from the poolside and into the back door of the house.

"Great," said Seth. "Now she's jealous."

Kendra sighed. "I don't know what we can do, Seth. "Ingrid feels left out. And can you blame her? She's adopted, while her step-siblings have these extraordinary powers that she can only dream of. I love her and everything, but imagine how _she_ must feel."

"But Ingrid's already incredible," said Seth. "Even without powers."

"Well, she's put off," said Kendra. "Living at Fablehaven, you and I are the only other kids that she even gets to bond with."

"So what are we supposed to do about that?" asked Seth. "What's done is done."

"I know," said Kendra. " _That's_ the problem."

Later that day, everybody in the entire house was alerted when they heard some heavy knocking coming from the front door.

"I'll get it," said Seth, as he raced out of the parlor where he and Warren had been working on a jigsaw puzzle together and made his way through the house to the front door.

"Who could it be?" asked Grandma.

Without responding, Seth pulled open the front door. Standing on the other side was Bracken. Behind him was what appeared to be every other known fairy angel. Beyond them, there was a huge gathering of small fairies, all of whom appeared to be singing in a harmony of bells.

"Greetings," said Bracken, flashing a huge smile. "I ask that all of you please exit the house!"

"What's going on?" asked Ingrid, as she stepped out through the front door. "We know already that the Fairy Queen has been rescued!"

"Not just rescued..." said Bright, "but she's alive and well!"

The hundreds of fairies that were fluttering around all parted to the sides, revealing the Fairy Queen, who was standing before everyone. She smiled and nodded her head.

"Your majesty..." said Grandpa, clasping his hands together. "You've recovered already?"

"Indeed," said the Fairy Queen. "After I attacked Murdred with Vasilis, I found myself being hurled into an unknown realm. Having been drained of my powers, I was unable to escape, and soon fell into a deep sleep. I barely remember anything, until I awoke back home in the Fairy Kingdom."

"Restoring mother was quite simple," said Brillia. "Finding her, however..."

"The fairies told me everything about your exploits. Had it not been for your valiant efforts, not only would I never have been rescued, but both the Fairy Realm and the mortal one would have been in grave danger. I'm so very proud of all of you. And Seth, congratulations on becoming an angel!"

Seth blushed, trying not to feel embarrassed about himself. "You want me to show you? It's not easy..."

"No rush," said the Fairy Queen. "If it's too hard, I'll take everyone's word for it for now."

"What about us?" asked Skyfrost, as he and Firesquall both flew over to where the Fairy Queen was standing, hovering several feet overhead.

"We helped out too!" chimed in Firesquall.

"Indeed you did. The Fairy Kingdom is indebted to you young wyverns, as well as your parents, Raxtus and Geminus."

"I'm grateful we were able to stop Murdred," said Raxtus. "But what will happen to the Demon Domain?"

"And all of the creatures that lived there?" added Geminus. "As bad as they were, they didn't necessarily deserve the fall of their world."

"We tried accessing the Demon Domain again," said Bravia. "But we can't get a portal to open."

"However, with the demonic influence a thing of the past, it may still thrive," said Brook. "Perhaps as a more neutral realm. It's possible that some of the less hostile creatures that dwelled there will be reborn into, shall we say... more pleasant ones."

"It worked for Oblivion," said Tiara. "Although she had been tainted with darkness, she's a changed fairy now."

"Of course, there are still demonic creatures that exist in the mortal realm," said Opal. "I suppose we can't have everything."

"That reminds me..." said Warren, as he presented both Vasilis and the Necromaster to the Fairy Queen. " _This_ is what became of Vasilis and the relics after Kendra and Seth finished off Murdred."

"May I see?" asked the Fairy Queen, as she accepted Vasilis from Warren. She then examined the sword in her hand. "Incredible. It would appear that it has been infused with both fairy and angelic powers. It is a sword of light and darkness no more. For now, it is purely the sword of light."

The Fairy Queen handed Vasilis back to Warren, who in turn presented to her the four relics, which she began to examine.

"Now, I know very little about how these relics supposedly function. But from what I've gathered, it would appear that their connection with the Necromaster has been lost."

"What do you mean, ruined?" asked Seth.

"I'm not sure, honestly. But you becoming angelkind while Murdred was holding both it and you at the same time may have overloaded the relic with light energy, causing it to malfunction."

"It's not unheard of to overload something with light energy," said Bracken. "Remember what happened with Torina?"

"However, the other four relics still seem to contain what I presume is their own power," said the Fairy Queen. "But they don't appear to have traces of darkness still lingering within them."

"That's incredible," said Grandma.

"Now," said the Fairy Queen, handing the relics to Grandma. "I want to give a big, congratulatory thanks to the Knights of the Dawn, the dragons and all of the fairy angels for their victory against Murdred!"

The crowd of fairies and family members erupted in a roar of cheers. The reindeer, Stargleam and Windshear all banged their hooves down on the ground in applause.

"But most of all, we owe the biggest thanks to Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren. Warren, for single-handedly fighting off three of Murdred's most loyal subjects, the adlets, who came close to mauling the group to death."

Warren nodded, as everyone else cheered. "I'd love to say _It was nothing_. But it wasn't."

"Ingrid," continued the Fairy Queen. "For defeating Murdred's chief adviser, Helwic."

Ingrid smiled. "I can't believe I managed to do it."

"And last, but certainly not least... Kendra and Seth. For uniting their unique powers and destroying Murdred, once and for all!"

The entire crowd exploded with cheers. Family members all placed their hands upon Kendra and Seth's shoulders, while others patted them on the back. Once the cheers calmed down, the Fairy Queen cleared her throat.

"Would the four of you please step forward?"

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all looked at each other, then stepped up towards the Fairy Queen.

"For your many services to the Fairy Kingdom, I would like to offer you four my deepest thanks. Therefore, I will be more than happy to grant each of you one wish."

"A _wish_?" asked Ingrid.

"You _grant_ wishes?" asked Seth.

The Fairy Queen held up her hands. "Not quite... I'm no Omega Star. But I _do_ possess fantastic powers and can bestow upon you nearly anything you could ever want."

"You're kidding..." said Warren.

"I'm not. I feel that you four deserve to have almost anything that your hearts desire. Seth, you used your favor with the Singing Sisters to save me. It's my way of paying you back."

"I guess this means you I can't ask you for the Omega Star," said Seth.

"Hold on a moment," said Ingrid. "I don't even know what to wish for!"

"Well, these _are_ extenuating circumstances," said the Fairy Queen. "Just about anything you desire could be justified. I could even allow you to become a fairy angel, if you so wish."

"Fairy angels?" asked Bracken. "Is that even possible?"

"Only because they have earned the honor. I could never perform such a feat for anyone deemed unworthy."

"This is incredible," said Warren. "I don't even know what to ask for."

"Anyway, none of you have to decide upon what you want right away. Take your time. It can be years later that you choose to make your request. I will still be sure to honor it as best I can."

"Thank you so much," said Kendra, as she and the others all nodded in approval.

"It's the least I can do. In the meantime, I wish to return to the Fairy Kingdom. Although I have recovered somewhat, I'm still not back to full strength. But I should be fully refreshed by tomorrow."

"Understood," said Grandpa. "I'm just elated that you're back, my Queen, and that everything worked out in the end."

"My reign as Fairy Queen may be over," said Brillia. "But I couldn't be happier."

"Let's return home," said Bright. "There is still so much we need to discuss."

"Yeah," said Clover. "Wait until we tell you all about Wingadoon!"

Several hours later, after the family had eaten dinner, Kendra, Seth and Ingrid soon found themselves sitting on the front porch swing, staring up at the early evening sky.

"The party just keeps going," said Seth. "Tomorrow we're going to the Fairbanks for a celebration banquet! Everyone's gonna be there! Trask, Tanu, Mara..."

"It'll be my first time," said Ingrid. "I'm looking forward to it! As well as our favors. You two know what you're gonna ask the Fairy Queen for?"

"Not yet," said Seth. "I want to save it for something special."

"Yeah..." said Kendra, who felt rather overwhelmed with the question. "Something special. I think Warren is saving his favor as well."

"Hey, all!" said Bracken, who was walking in from the edge of the yard, coming from the direction of the naiad's pond.

"Bracken!" exclaimed Kendra, as the fairy prince came scurrying up towards the front porch. "Great to see you again!"

"Same here," said Bracken, as he sat down on a rocking chair that was facing the swing. "I'm pleased to report that Mother is recovering fairly well. By tomorrow, she should be ready to reclaim the throne back from Brillia."

"Brillia's not upset, is she?" asked Ingrid.

Bracken laughed. "She's relieved more than anything! The entire position was kind of forced upon her. She was far from a bad queen, but deep down, she didn't feel that she was best-suited for the position."

"I'm happy for her," said Kendra.

"Anyway, have you three given your favors any thought?"

"I have," said Seth. "Nothing worthwhile."

"Me neither," said Ingrid.

"You, Kendra?" asked Bracken. He waited for Kendra to give a response, but she remained silent. "Kendra?"

"I heard you," said Kendra. "Bracken... There _is_ a favor I'd like to ask."

"Really? Name it."

"Bracken, I'm almost seventeen years old. Another year from now and I'll legally be an adult."

"Go on."

"Bracken, when I turn eighteen..."

"When you turn eighteen, what?" asked Bracken.

"Well... I'll be done with homeschooling. And I'm not sure what I want to do entirely. Maybe study, or travel the world some more. But once I settle down, I'd like you marry you."

Bracken, Seth and Ingrid all dropped their jaws upon hearing Kendra's proposal.

"You can say no," said Kendra. "I won't be upset. It's just that... I love you. Truly. Not because you're a unicorn. It's because I love _you_."

Bracken shook his head. "Kendra, I need to be honest with you. This is not something you can ask the Fairy Queen for. I'm sorry, but you just can't. I won't allow it."

Kendra felt as though her heart suddenly froze up upon hearing Bracken's remark.

"And for good reason," continued Bracken. "This is a decision _I_ have to make. Not my mother. And you know what? I _do_. I would love to marry you. Whenever you feel ready."

Kendra could feel her heart thumping heavily within her chest. Innumerable goosebumps were popping up all over her arms and legs. Even Seth was beside himself.

"Bracken..." said Kendra. "I'm speechless."

"But Kendra," said Bracken. "If you marry me, there's something very important that you should be aware of."

"What's that?"

"I'm a fairy prince. If you marry me, you will enter into the royal family. By fairy law, as my wife, you would become a unicorn."

"Kendra... a _unicorn_?" asked Seth.

"I... never considered that," said Kendra. "Warren married Clover just fine, and he became fairystruck solely due to her kisses."

"Clover is not fairy royalty, now, is she?" asked Bracken.

"You're serious?" asked Ingrid. "Kendra, you're really willing to go through with marrying Bracken? So suddenly?"

"I can't explain it," said Kendra. "It just feels like if I do marry Bracken, I'll be happy forever."

"As would I with you," said Bracken.

"This is what I want," said Kendra, as she got up from the swing and planted a kiss on Bracken's lips.

"Of course I'll marry you," said Bracken. "Although, I don't have anything to really propose to you with right now. No ring."

"We'll make our own pact," said Kendra. "Not a handshake. More like a pinky promise. But with our ring fingers."

"I've never heard of this," said Seth. "A ring finger promise? That's not a thing!"

"I'm making it a thing," said Kendra, as she made a fist with her left hand, stuck out her ring finger and held it before Bracken. "You do the same, Bracken."

"Okay..." said Bracken nervously, as he too did the same thing with his ring finger.

Kendra and Bracken then locked their ring fingers together. Kendra stared directly into Bracken's silver eyes.

"You vow to marry me?" asked Kendra.

"Absolutely," replied Bracken. "As soon as you're ready."

"Thank you. You've made me so happy."

Their ring fingers still locked together, Kendra and Bracken shook hands, then released themselves from each other's grasp. Bracken then got up from his seat and gave Kendra a hug.

"So Kendra's gonna be a unicorn," said Seth, looking at Kendra and Bracken whilst they hugged together and kissed.

"I'm happy for them," said Ingrid. "But I can't help but envy Kendra. I just can't."

"Well, the Fairy Queen _did_ say you could become a fairy angel," said Seth.

"I know. It _would_ compliment you, wouldn't it. I mean, as a male angel, you could probably have any fairy you want. Or even Hope."

"So what? Ingrid, I don't care if you're not a fairy, angel, unicorn, pegasus, centaur, mermaid, wendigo or... _whatever,_ " said Seth. "I love you just the way you are. And you still loved me back when I was a shadow charmer, even when pretty much all of the fairies resented me. But... if you want to become a fairy angel, go right ahead. I understand. An opportunity like this doesn't happen very often."

"That's the thing," said Ingrid. "I _am_ happy the way I am. And even though I'm proud of you for becoming an angel, I don't need to change myself to make you happy either."

"You know, you _would_ get lots of cool powers as a fairy angel," said Seth. "Just kidding, of course!"

"I got the hint," said Ingrid. She smiled back at Seth, then kissed him on his lips.

The feeling of being kissed filled Seth with so much joy and elation, that his angel wings inexplicably grew back, once again tearing holes through his shirt.

"Seth!" exclaimed Bracken, releasing his arms from Kendra. "What happened?"

"Ingrid made me happy," replied Seth. "That's what happened. Come on!"

Seth stood before Ingrid, then wrapped his arms underneath hers and around her body.

"Seth!" cried Ingrid. "What are you doing?"

Saying nothing, Seth flapped his wings and proceeded to fly off of the porch.

"Seth, come on!" said Kendra, as Seth flew up alongside the house.

Once Seth reached the top of the house, he came down for a landing on the roof, allowing Ingrid to set her feet down.

"Seth, what's this all about?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm an angel," said Seth. "And while I don't entirely understand _how_ it happened, one thing is for sure."

"What's that?" asked Ingrid.

"We love each other. And it's because of that love that I'm able to become an angel. It's what caused me to change back when we were up against Murdred. I know it. I can feel it in my heart."

Ingrid smiled. "It's hard to believe that things seemed so different before this whole ordeal with Murdred actually started. What were we even doing before we were so... _rudely interrupted_?"

"We were at the fair, trying to win you that stupid pegasus plushie, remember?" asked Seth.

"I think I got a much better prize in the end," said Ingrid, as she placed her hand upon one of Seth's wings and stroked his golden feathers.

"Are you two okay up there?" asked Bracken, who was now standing on the front lawn with Kendra, looking up towards the roof.

"We're not _okay_ ," replied Ingrid. "We're perfect."

At that moment, a court of fairies flew up over the roof of the house, then arced back down, leaving a sparkling rainbow in their path.

Saying nothing, Seth threw his arms around Ingrid. In response, Ingrid did the same in return. Seth then brought his wings forward and wrapped them around Ingrid, essentially giving her a double hug.

 **The End**

 **A/N: Be sure to check out the next chapter. I will also be listing off secrets and little known facts in this next chapter. Also be sure to check out the follow-up story "Utopia of the Usurper Unicorn".**


	35. Final Words

Thank you for reading through my stories! I hate to admit it, but I am officially done with this series. I hope that you all had a great time reading through it!

It's been over five years since I started writing the Wrath of Navarog, back in July 2010. There were a few hiatuses along the way, but now, in 2016, I can at last rest easy, for the series has finally drawn to a close.

I hope you're not too disappointed that the series has concluded. I did what I could to tie up any loose ends, and felt that Seth becoming an angel and defeating Murdred made a good finale, while still opening up new doors.

I originally started writing after reading through the five Fablehaven books, just because I enjoyed the series so much and desperately wished that there could be more to the world I had immersed myself in. Back in 2010, Brandon Mull had stated that while he was interested in possibly writing more Fablehaven stories, he had no ideas at the time, and moved on to other things. However, Mull eventually announced that he would be writing a follow-up series to Fablehaven, entitled Dragonwatch, the first book of which is set to be released in October 2016.

With this series now ending, the timing couldn't be more perfect. An official continuation to Fablehaven is coming out this year. While my series (and the works of many others) have tied us over up to this point, we will soon have Dragonwatch in our hands.

Yes, Dragonwatch will come out and completely contradict everything that I've written. All the characters, locales and other ideas I've come up with will seem completely irrelevant. Will I be upset? Heavens no! I'm quite looking forward to it! It'll no doubt be full of incredible ideas I never could have even dreamt about! After all, Brandon Mull created the Fablehaven universe in the first place. It's his baby. My writings, just like any other fanfiction, are apocrypha.

At the end of the day, the truth of the matter is that my story is over, I have nothing left that I wish to tell. Who knows? Perhaps some day in the future I will think of a way to continue my story. Or maybe I'll write a continuation to Dragonwatch. But for now, my work here is done. There are plenty of other talented authors on this site. While it's entirely subjective as to which of their stories will appeal to you, check them out. There are plenty out there already, and there will certainly be more to come.

 **Questions and Answers**

 **Q:** Why did you decide to make Seth an angel?

 **A:** It was to symbolize that Seth's heart had ultimately grown stronger than any level of darkness that Murdred could inflict upon him. I wanted show that underneath Seth's shadow charmer exterior, there was a good soul struggling to break free.

 **Q:** Why are Seth and Ingrid in love? They're brother and sister!

 **A:** They are foster siblings. Although they are legally considered to be brother and sister, there is no blood relation between them. As such, they do not find find their attraction to each other to be inappropriate.

 **Q:** What's going on with Warren and Clover?

 **A:** They are still happily married. Clover is still working in Wingadoon, but she and Warren still visit each other frequently.

With that said, it's trivia time!

*The Wrath of Navarog was originally set to be a stand-alone story with no continuation. However, as I was nearing completion of it, I realized that I was enjoying it a whole lot, so I decided to write a follow-up, and things kind of just continued on from there.

*It's also kind of an odd story in some regards. Seth is out-of character for much of it (justified, of course) and actually gets very little to do. There was also the penultimate segment involving the futuristic Silicon Station, which is quite jarring compared to fantasy aspects found throughout the series. Looking back, I regret the whole Silicon Station ordeal, which is why I never brought it up again and normalized Jet, whom I retired after the second story. Two canon characters are also killed off, again because I didn't yet have a sequel in the works.

*The four Fablehaven sequels share the same naming convention (Fablehaven: Noun of the Noun). I didn't follow this rule with "The Wrath of Navarog", but I did with the rest of the series.

*In Chapter 25 of "The Wrath of Navarog", there is a puzzle which requires eight chess pieces to be set upon specific squares. These positions are actually a solution to a puzzle known as the "Eight Queens Problem", even though in the story not all the pieces are queens.

*There were two entry codes in Chapter 27: 2726366 and 6855. On a telephone keypad, these numbers can actually spell out two words: BRANDON and MULL.

*When I came up with Bright's name, I didn't immediately put two and two together and realize that both her name and Bracken's both start with the letters B and R. When I needed names for the other sisters, I stuck with the same naming convention.

*Tritanoss' name is derived from Triton, Titan and boss.

*I don't know if I ever got around to mentioning this, but Hespera (the witch) was not named for the hydra at Wyrmroost. The hydra was named after the witch. My computer crashed roughly halfway through writing "Contradiction of the Malevolent Heart", so several chapters had to be rewritten rather hastily.

*The location of Hespera's lair is hidden in a real place in the New York subway system. Seth and his friends get on at Bowling Green station on the Lexington Avenue line and go five stops north to Spring Street. North of Spring Street is the lair.

*I later decided that Warren becoming a partial fairy was quite strange, so I rectified that at the end of "Destiny of the Dark Destroyer".

*In Destiny of the Dark Destroyer, the group travels back to 1689, when the Inverted Tower is being built. According to the first book, Fablehaven was established "over 300 years ago" and was published in 2006. According to the Caretaker's Guide to Fablehaven, the preserve was established in 1711. Not that I had any idea about this, but the dates don't quite add up. Going by this logic, this means that the Inverted Tower was being built twenty-two years before the preserve itself was established if my dates are to be believed.

*Although there are references to technology and pop culture, I tried to avoid mentioning actual years in an attempt to keep the stories feeling timeless.

*Murdred is the embodiment of all the worst human traits and ideals I could think of. I felt that a truly wicked villain isn't born evil, but self-made.

*Murdred's own name took a while to settle upon. An earlier choice was Lordred, as it could be interpreted as "Lord Dread" and rhymed with Mordred. However, I felt that it sounded too similar to "Lord Zedd" (the Power Rangers villain). I eventually settled on Murdred, which still alluded to Mordred and incorporated the words "Murdred" and "Dread". Damien, his real name, is taken from the character from the film "The Omen".

*Sarah Kelly seemed too good to be true. Another teenage shadow charmer who doted on Seth. I wanted her to also have an "S" name. Also, her initials were SK, in contrast to Kendra's initials, KS.

*I created Ingrid because I felt that the story needed another strong female human. It didn't help that Navarog killed Elise and Vanessa. At the same time, I wanted another character close in age to Kendra and Seth. The problem with Lance and David was that it felt strange to just uproot kids from their lives away from Fablehaven to go on more adventures. Ingrid being a female also allowed me to give Seth a suitable love interest that wasn't another fairy or something.

*I left Ingrid's background fairly ambiguous. Her original last name is never given, nor is her hometown. She was also an orphan so that it would be easier to integrate her into the main cast living at Fablehaven.

*While Murdred represented the worst aspects of men, Nemenemi did so for women. However, she didn't last long because it was hard to really do anything with her since she couldn't get along with Murdred and was little more than a beacon of darkness.

*Warren celebrates his birthday in May. In "Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary", he mentions he's a Scorpio. Whoops! To be fair, I only did this because I forgot about the Scorpio remark at the time. Also, Kendra's birthday is in October and Seth was "barely thirteen" in December in "Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary", so I did this to space the birthdays out a bit more.

*Murdred had six mates, akin to King Henry VII, who had six wives.

*"Loyalty of the Ultimate Angel" is quite long. Looking back, I probably could have omitted the entire France portion, and just had the Reflector been the treasure in the Dungeon of Despair.

*The Singing Sisters point out that Murdred's birthday is January 13th, 1313. While the thirteen motif couldn't be more obvious, there's a secret that the Sisters did not point out. After deciding upon that day, I looked at a calendar for January 1313. Turns out that the thirteenth of January fell on a Friday that year.

*Kendra's middle name is never mentioned throughout the five books, even though we learn the middle names of Seth and both parents. I gave Kendra the middle name May because I wanted her to have an "M" name like her mother Marla. May is derived from Maia, the goddess of spring. It also rhymes with fae, so I felt it went well with Kendra.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to send me a PM or a review. I am unable to respond to more guest reviews from this point.

 **NOTE:** The series is not over yet. Please check out the continuation story "Utopia of the Usurper Unicorn"!


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